breakthrough

noun, often attributive break·through \ ˈbrāk-ˌthrü \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: breakthrough in a Sentence

Definition of breakthrough

1 warfare : an offensive military assault that penetrates and carries beyond a defensive line

2 : an act or instance of moving through or beyond an obstacle

a breakthrough in the talks between the region's leaders

a breakthrough agreement

3 a : a sudden advance especially in knowledge or technique

a medical breakthrough

b : a person's first notable success

a breakthrough novel

the actress's breakthrough performance

See breakthrough defined for English-language learners

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Examples of breakthrough in a Sentence

Researchers say they have made a major breakthrough in cancer treatment.
The police have announced a breakthrough in the murder case.
This job could be the breakthrough she's been waiting for.

Recent Examples of breakthrough from the Web

On the men’s side, Stefanos Tsitsipas—despite having yet to win a match at a Slam—seems ready for a major breakthrough, especially after reaching finals in Barcelona and Portugal.

— the si staff, SI.com, "French Open 2018 Preview Roundtable: Predictions, Dark Horses, More," 23 May 2018
This was actually a major breakthrough for me! 8 p.m. Order salad and cookies from Mandy’s.

— The Cut, "The Copywriter Obsessed With Her Married Co-worker," 13 May 2018
My guess is that the U.S.-D.P.R.K. summit won’t achieve a mega-breakthrough.

— abigail tracy, The Hive, "“A Dog Whistle to the North Koreans”: Will Trump’s Ignorance (and Bolton’s Impetuousness) Doom the North Korea Summit?," 4 May 2018
However, earlier this year, South Korea made some breakthroughs with its warring neighbor after a series of meetings and discussions that resulted in North Korea's sending athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

— NBC News, "North Korea's Kim Jong Un crosses border for historic talks with South," 27 Apr. 2018
In 1887, Anne Sullivan achieved a breakthrough as her 6-year-old deaf-blind pupil, Helen Keller, learned the meaning of the word ‘‘water’’ as spelled out in the Manual Alphabet.

— BostonGlobe.com, "This day in history," 5 Apr. 2018
Finally, a breakthrough – the figures checked out, the results were reproducible.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "We Are Scientists," 5 June 2018
In another breakthrough for professional sports and the LGBTQ community, Major League Baseball and the NFL have both signed on to parade in the New York City Pride March on June 24.

— katherine fominykh, baltimoresun.com, "MLB, NFL will join five other leagues in New York City Pride March," 1 June 2018
In their first summit in April, Kim and Moon announced vague aspirations for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and permanent peace, which Seoul has tried to sell as a meaningful breakthrough to set up the summit with Trump.

— kathleen joyce, Fox News, "North and South Korean leaders meet for second time in a month," 26 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'breakthrough.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of breakthrough

1915

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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breakthrough Synonyms

break through

verb

Definition of break through

intransitive verb

: to make a breakthrough

First Known Use of break through

1946

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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BREAKTHROUGH Defined for English Language Learners

breakthrough

noun

Definition of breakthrough for English Language Learners

: a sudden increase in knowledge, understanding, etc. : an important discovery that happens after trying for a long time to understand or explain something
: a person's first important success