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

“All My Sons,” Miller’s breakthrough play about capitalism’s warped ethics in the guise of a domestic drama, just finished a successful run at Antaeus Theatre Company in Glendale.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

The breakthrough traces back to an unexpected moment during a neurobiology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

PrismML has achieved a mathematical breakthrough that achieves a 1-bit model without compromising the reasoning, coding, and general knowledge capabilities of full-precision models, according to Hassibi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Schwarzenegger told the event his first visit to Belfast in 1966 was a "breakthrough" moment for him because it was the first time he was invited to speak in public.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

Lawrence, who had demanded the urgent face-to-face meeting, had come bearing news of an extraordinary breakthrough in that field.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

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