as in improvement
an instance of notable progress in the development of knowledge, technology, or skill
Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin was one of medicine's great breakthroughs, for penicillin became the first antibiotic to successfully combat bacterial infections in humans
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of breakthrough
Seven former Day 1 MLB draft picks showing signs of breakthroughs early this season
Ken Rosenthal is the senior baseball writer for The Athletic who has spent nearly 35 years covering the major leagues.
—
Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned foreign students to avoid getting involved in anti-American political demonstrations and expressed hope for a breakthrough in historic nuclear talks with Iran.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2025
Sportsfile | Getty Images Alphabet decided to spin off Isomorphic from DeepMind, tasking the startup with using the AlphaFold technology to deliver biomedical breakthroughs and advance drug design programs.
—Hayden Field, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2025
Direct or not, the talks represent a breakthrough between the Islamic Republic and a US administration led by a president whom American officials accuse Tehran of once plotting to assassinate.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breakthrough
Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned foreign students to avoid getting involved in anti-American political demonstrations and expressed hope for a breakthrough in historic nuclear talks with Iran.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2025
Sportsfile | Getty Images Alphabet decided to spin off Isomorphic from DeepMind, tasking the startup with using the AlphaFold technology to deliver biomedical breakthroughs and advance drug design programs.
—Hayden Field, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2025
Direct or not, the talks represent a breakthrough between the Islamic Republic and a US administration led by a president whom American officials accuse Tehran of once plotting to assassinate.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breakthrough
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breakthrough
Noun
-
Highlight their strengths, provide areas for improvement with solutions and reaffirm confidence in their abilities.—
Rolling Stone Culture Council,
Rolling Stone,
9 Apr. 2025
-
On the union’s agenda is improvements to compensation, benefits, workplace safety and transparency, diversity, accessibility and job security at their workplaces.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
At issue are timing advance records, detailed location data from a phone that is only preserved for seven days.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
-
The senators asked the Office of Government Ethics to probe whether any White House or executive branch officials, to include special government employees, were informed of the announcement in advance and what financial transactions were made by officials with knowledge of nonpublic information.—
Isabella Murray,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The announcement marks the first advancement toward a full agreement that was thrown into jeopardy by rounds of tense talks and Zelensky's disastrous White House visit in February.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
-
In fact, researchers have theorized that fusion could generate nearly limitless amounts of safe and clean energy on Earth, but the scientific advancements that could make this possible on a large scale are still decades away.—
Margherita Bassi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Breakthrough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breakthrough. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share