breakthrough

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

|Updated on: 16 Aug 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

See breakthrough defined for kids

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

Victory against Croatia would be redemption for a team seeking its second World Cup win 20 years after the original breakthrough.

— hayden bird, BostonGlobe.com, "What to know about the World Cup title match," 14 July 2018
But the breakthrough came when Nzali found a braid-wearing assemblywoman in North Jersey who agreed to sponsor legislation to help.

— jan hefler, Philly.com, "$18,000 in tuition and 1,200 hours of study for a license to braid hair? New Jersey lawmakers say no," 13 July 2018
Researchers compared the breakthrough to the 2017 detection of ripples in space time caused by colliding dead stars, which added gravitational waves to scientists' toolbox for observing the cosmos.

— author: sarah kaplan, Anchorage Daily News, "In a cosmic first, scientists detect ‘ghost particles’ from a distant galaxy," 12 July 2018
Researchers compared the breakthrough to the 2017 detection of ripples in space time caused by colliding dead stars, which added gravitational waves to scientists' toolbox for observing the cosmos.

— sarah kaplan, chicagotribune.com, "In a cosmic first, scientists detect 'ghost particles' from a distant galaxy," 12 July 2018
There was no way to know what the next breakthrough would look like, so there was no point in demanding a detailed plan of action.

— alex davies, WIRED, "Inside X, the Moonshot Factory Racing to Build the Next Google," 11 July 2018
But the most significant breakthrough came on Monday when the divers, coping with mudslides and limited visibility, painstakingly enlarged the small passageway that had blocked their underwater progress.

— New York Times, "Soccer Team Is Found Alive in Thailand Cave Rescue," 2 July 2018
Now, if breakthroughs come from that that will be great, but frankly having this meeting roughly a year and a half into the administration is a key fact.

— Fox News, "John Bolton previews the Trump-Putin summit; Leonard Leo on frontrunners to replace Justice Kennedy," 1 July 2018
That breakthrough could come before Williams and her colleagues launch into space.

— christian davenport, Houston Chronicle, "What does it mean to be a NASA astronaut in the celebrity space age of Elon Musk and Richard Branson?," 15 June 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

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

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

NEW! Time Traveler

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