Breakthrough Meaning
/ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjCharacterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.
adjInvolving 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.
Sentence Examples
Representatives made a major breakthrough in the trade talks.
He badly exaggerated his ability to achieve a breakthrough.
This discovery was perceived as a major breakthrough.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientists celebrated their ____ in cancer research after years of failed experiments.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The scientists made a major ____ in their research on the new drug city.
Word Origin & History
From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Breakthrough infections (urine infections that develop in children on antibiotics) can occasionally occur, and if they do, different preventative antibiotics can be given or sometimes surgery to fix the leaky valve can be undertaken."
— a. 2005, “Brochure - Urinary Reflux”, in Renal Resource Centre, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2004:
"There is also growing evidence that while Omicron may cause many breakthrough cases among previously infected or previously vaccinated populations, the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease among them will be lower, they added."
— 2022 January 15, “In open letter, 30 doctors issue appeal against use of ‘unwarranted medications, diagnostics’”, in The Indian Express, WordPress, archived from the original on 15 Jan 2022:
"In [Raymond] Kurzweil’s future, biotechnology and nanotechnology give us the power to manipulate our bodies and the world around us at will, at the molecular level. Progress hyperaccelerates, and every hour brings a century’s worth of scientific breakthroughs."
— 2011 February 10, Lev Grossman, “2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Mar 2025:
""Secondly, we have to find more cost-effective ways of electrifying. And we've had a real breakthrough in the last couple of years in terms of bridge clearances and immunisation, meaning we've been able to take hundreds of millions of pounds off the cost of electrification."
— 2020 May 20, Andrew Haines talks to Stefanie Foster, “Repurpose rail for the 2020s”, in Rail, page 33:
"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."
— 2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 08 Dec 2022:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientists celebrated their ____ in cancer research after years of failed experiments.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The scientists made a major ____ in their research on the new drug city.