Put through means to cause someone to experience something difficult or unpleasant. When a strict coach puts the team through a grueling practice, she makes them endure challenging drills and exercises. When a complicated legal case puts a family through years of stress, they have to live with that burden for a long time.

The phrase emphasizes that someone or something is making another person go through a hard experience. A difficult illness might put someone through months of treatment and recovery. A demanding teacher might put students through rigorous preparation before a big competition. A mischievous younger sibling might put their older brother through constant annoyance with pranks and pestering.

The phrase also appears in other contexts. In business, you might ask someone to put you through to another person on the phone, meaning connect your call to them. A factory puts materials through a manufacturing process. But the most common meaning focuses on causing someone to endure something challenging: when you hear that someone was put through an ordeal, you know they faced something tough that wasn't their choice.