To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to pierce.
Light penetrates darkness.
To achieve understanding of, despite some obstacle; to comprehend; to understand.
I could not penetrate Burke's opaque rhetoric.
To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to move deeply.
to penetrate one's heart with pity
To infiltrate an enemy to gather intelligence.
To insert the penis into an opening, such as a vagina or anus.
a male elephant comes up and penetrates the female elephant
To move a piece past the defending pieces of one's opponent.