wade through — work through something slowly and with difficulty (figurative)
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
to read, deal with, or complete something that is long, boring, or difficult, especially when it takes a lot of effort and time
Say it like a native
Textbook I laboriously worked my way through the lengthy report.
Native I had to wade through the whole report.
'Wade through' captures the slow slog through something long or boring; the paraphrase is heavy.
Pattern: wade through + noun (usually plural or uncountable)
In use
- I had to wade through hundreds of pages of legal documents before I found the information I needed.work
- In my last job, I often had to wade through complex reports, which was quite time-consuming but necessary to make informed decisions.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I waded the paperwork.
✓ I waded through the paperwork.
'Wade THROUGH' a mass of stuff — don't drop 'through'.
Common collocations
wade through + slog— paperwork, the report, hundreds of emails, the data
Don't confuse it
Unlike the literal meaning (walking with difficulty through water), this sense is figurative and refers to dealing with tasks or information, not physical movement.