breakthrough
Americannoun
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a military movement or advance all the way through and beyond an enemy's frontline defense.
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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.
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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.
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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
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constituting a breakthrough: Critics called it a breakthrough film.
Their products are engineered with breakthrough technology.
Critics called it a breakthrough film.
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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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Her acting breakthrough came on the TV show The Newsroom, before starring roles in movies such as X-Men: Apocalypse and The Predator.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform signified a breakthrough, as customers realized Palantir could provide AI solutions that were effective, Luria said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026
I narrowed my eyes to let her know this was no breakthrough.
From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
