# breakthrough

Pronunciation: say "BRAYK-throo" /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/

## Noun

1. A major advance, such as an innovation or discovery that overcomes a significant obstacle.
   - Simple: An important success or discovery that gets past a big problem.
   - _The lab announced a breakthrough that could change how we store energy._
   - _After months of dead ends, the engineers finally achieved a breakthrough._
3. An advance that pushes through and past enemy lines.
   - Simple: A push that moves soldiers through and past the enemy's line.
   - _The general planned a breakthrough at the weakest point in the line._
   - _The sudden breakthrough split the defending forces in two._
4. A play that penetrates the opposing team's defense.
   - Simple: A move that gets the ball past the other team's defense.
   - _A sudden breakthrough by the midfielder caught the defenders off guard._
   - _The team's breakthrough in the final minutes sealed the match._
6. The appearance of one or more symptoms of a condition despite ongoing medication or treatment.
   - Simple: The return of symptoms even while a person is taking medicine for them.
   - _A breakthrough of seizures prompted the doctor to adjust the dosage._
   - _She experienced a breakthrough of anxiety even on the new treatment._
7. The penetration of a separating wall, or the meeting point where two tunnel sections driven from opposite ends finally connect.
   - Simple: The moment when digging breaks through a wall and joins two spaces, like two tunnel ends meeting.
   - _The breakthrough between the two headings was off by only a few centimeters._
   - _Surveyors aligned both headings so the breakthrough would meet precisely._

## Adjective

2. Marked by major progress or by the overcoming of a significant obstacle.
   - Simple: Bringing major progress or getting past a hard problem.
   - _Her breakthrough discovery reshaped the entire field of genetics._
   - _The company unveiled a breakthrough design at the conference._
5. Describing infection that occurs in a person with reduced susceptibility, such as someone vaccinated against that disease.
   - Simple: Describing an illness caught by someone who was less likely to get it, like a vaccinated person.
   - _Several breakthrough infections appeared during the winter surge._
   - _The clinic tracked every breakthrough case to study the new variant._

## Origin

Formed from "break" plus "through," comparable to German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (literally "through-break").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/breakthrough (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).