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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

breakthrough.

Characterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.

12 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbɹeɪk.θɹu/Canada, General-American[ˈbɹeɪk.θɹʉ]Canada, General-American[ˈbɹeɪk.θɹɨ]Canada, General-American
  1. Characterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.

    not-comparable
    a breakthrough technological advance
  2. Involving the contraction of a disease by a person with a decreased susceptibility, such as a person who has been vaccinated to help prevent that disease.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”).

noun/ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbɹeɪk.θɹu/Canada, General-American[ˈbɹeɪk.θɹʉ]Canada, General-American[ˈbɹeɪk.θɹɨ]Canada, General-American
  1. An advance through and past enemy lines.

  2. Any major progress; such as a great innovation or discovery that overcomes a significant obstacle.

    Albert Einstein is credited with making some of the greatest breakthroughs in modern physics.
  3. The penetration of the opposition's defence.

  4. The penetration of a separating wall or the remaining distance to an adjacent hollow (a crosscut in mining) or between two parts of a tunnel build from both ends.

  5. The emergence or one or more symptoms of a condition despite medication or other medical treatment.

    attributive · sometimes
    She was on two antiepileptics for five years but then had a breakthrough seizure.
    He was managing his discomfort with common painkillers, but one morning he had breakthrough pain causing him to miss work.
Where this word comes from

From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.