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

The breakthrough centers on a device called a surface acoustic wave phonon laser.

From Science Daily

The film tracks his team’s revolutionary work predicting the structure of nearly all known proteins, a breakthrough that was later rewarded with the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

From The Wall Street Journal

There’s a will on all sides to keep working on the legislation but an immediate breakthrough may be hard to come by.

From Barron's

The deal is a breakthrough after years of strained ties and tit-for-tat levies.

From BBC

“Despite a more challenging operating environment, investors continue to price in the possibility of technological catch-up or breakthrough,” said Alyssa Lee, a veteran tech investor who now works at an AI startup.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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