breakthrough

[breyk-throo]

noun

1. a military movement or advance all the way through and beyond an enemy's frontline defense.

2. an act or instance of removing or surpassing an obstruction or restriction; the overcoming of a stalemate.

   The president reported a breakthrough in the treaty negotiations.

3. any significant or sudden advance, development, achievement, or increase, as in scientific knowledge or diplomacy, that removes a barrier to progress.

   The jet engine was a major breakthrough in air transport.

4. Medicine/Medical.,  an infection, disease, disorder, or condition that occurs in an individual despite their having received a vaccine, medication, or treatment.

   Covid breakthroughs are usually less severe than infections in unvaccinated people, indicating that the vaccine is still doing its job of combating the virus.

adjective

1. constituting a breakthrough: Critics called it a breakthrough film.

   Their products are engineered with breakthrough technology.

   Critics called it a breakthrough film.

2. Medicine/Medical.,  relating to or being an infection, disease, disorder, or condition that occurs as a breakthrough: She experienced disabling breakthrough pain despite the high dose of painkillers she was taking.

   In the original vaccine trial, 89% of breakthrough infections were with a particular family of virus strains.

   She experienced disabling breakthrough pain despite the high dose of painkillers she was taking.

Word History and Origins

Origin of breakthrough¹

First recorded in 1915–20; noun use of verb phrase break through

Example Sentences

With no sign of a breakthrough, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated that a weekend session was unlikely, saying he was unsure "if that does any good," news website Semafor reported.

Read more on Barron's

This breakthrough may finally explain why astronomers rarely see red supergiants explode, even though models predict they should account for most core-collapse supernovae.

Read more on Science Daily

A crucial event that led to a breakthrough was Israel's failed attempt to kill the Hamas leadership in Doha on 9 September.

Read more on BBC

Give yourself the best chance of a breakthrough.

Read more on MarketWatch

When Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was on trial for misrepresenting the startup’s finances and business prospects, several people tried to put the practice of hyping supposed tech breakthroughs in context.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• boost 
• development 
• discovery 
• finding 
• gain 
• hike 
• improvement 
• leap 
• progress