breakthrough

See also break through

English

Alternative forms

• breakthru (U.S.A., nonstandard)

Etymology

break +‎ through

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbreɪkθruː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

breakthrough (not comparable)

1. Characterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.

   a breakthrough technological advance

Translations

characterized by major progress

Finnish: läpimurto- (fi) Hebrew: פורץ-דרך (he) (poretz-derekh) m., פורצת-דרך (he) (poretzet-derekh) f.

Hungarian: áttörő (hu)

Noun

breakthrough (plural breakthroughs)

1. (military) An advance through and past enemy lines (or vice versa).
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. (sports) The pentration of the opposition defence
   • 2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, BBC Sport:

     But with the lively Dos Santos pulling the strings behind strikers Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, Spurs controlled the first half without finding the breakthrough their dominance deserved.

Translations

military advance

Dutch: doorbraak (nl) c. Finnish: läpimurto (fi) German: Durchbruch (de) m. Hungarian: áttörés (hu)

Italian: breccia (it) f. Russian: проры́в (ru) (prorýv) m. Spanish: brecha (es) f.

major progress

Czech: průlom (cs) m. Dutch: doorbraak (nl) c. Finnish: läpimurto (fi) German: Durchbruch (de) m.

Hebrew: פריצת-דרך (he) (pritzat-derekh) f. Hungarian: áttörés (hu) Russian: проры́в (ru) (prorýv) m. Swedish: Genombrott (sv)

Derived terms

• breakthrough pain