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

It’s also in our national security interests to ensure our scientists — and not China’s — are responsible for those breakthroughs.

Read more on Salon

"Our hope is that we can uncover new evidence which will give us the breakthrough we need to find who was responsible."

Read more on BBC

There would need to be a number of "fundamental breakthroughs" first, agrees Babak Hodjat, chief technology officer of the tech firm Cognizant.

Read more on BBC

Thursday marked the ninth day of the shutdown, without any sign of a breakthrough.

Read more on Barron's

Solving this dilemma means reducing bank rates to encourage Japanese firms to invest in R&D, creating breakthroughs for long-term growth.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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