breakthrough

American  

[breyk-throo] / ˈbreɪkˌθru /

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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of breakthrough

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

Example Sentences

This breakthrough builds on more than ten years of work at Leipzig University focused on adhesion GPCRs.

From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026

Energy economist Shi noted, however, that while these agreements mark a "diplomatic breakthrough", it is not a resolution to the problem.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

Though the chances of a breakthrough remain slim, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026

The negotiations, which involve regional mediators, are for a truce that could lead to a permanent end to the war with Iran, though the chances for a breakthrough remain slim.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

It might seem a marriage made in heaven, but there were still hurdles to be overcome before Kepler could achieve the breakthrough that made him a key figure in the history of science.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

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