break through
1. verb To push through a physical barrier. The protestors are threatening to break through the barricade. The wrecking ball broke through the wall of the house at the start of the renovation. You don't think that angry dog barking at us could break through the fence, do you?
2. verb To overcome an obstacle. We owe a lot to the pioneering activists of earlier eras, who battled prejudice and broke through barriers. Your grandmother broke through walls for women everywhere when she became the first woman to enroll in our medical program. Who will break through that glass ceiling and become the first female president?
3. verb To have a realization or innovation that changes how a particular issue or thing is viewed. We haven't broken through the problem that has caused our experiment to keep failing. It seems like these famous scientists always break through roadblocks and make major discoveries in the most unexpected ways. If we don't break through this issue soon, I worry that the board is going to stop funding our research.
4. noun A realization or innovation that changes how a particular issue or thing is viewed. In this usage, the phrase is usually written as one word. Her breakthrough led the way for geneticists for decades to come. Come on, Bill, go to sleep. You might have a breakthrough with the research if you take a break from it. This machine here has contributed to many major breakthroughs in cancer research and treatment.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
break through (to someone or something)
to force [one's way] through an obstruction and reach someone or something on the other side. The miners broke through to their trapped friends. They broke through the thin wall easily.
break through
(something) 1. Lit. to break something and pass through. The firefighters broke through the wall easily. The robbers broke through the glass window of the shop.
2. Fig. to overcome something. Tom was able to break through racial barriers. The scientists broke through the mystery surrounding the disease and found the cause.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
break through
Penetrate a barrier or obstruction, as in They broke through the wall to get into the vault, or It won't be long before we break through the code and map all human genes. Used literally for going through a physical barrier since about 1400, this phrase began to be used figuratively in the late 1500s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
break through
v.1. To force a path through some obstruction by penetrating and breaking it: The escaping bank robbers broke through the police barricade by ramming it with their car.
2. To achieve a major success that permits further progress: With the discovery of the new drug, the scientists broke through in their fight against cancer.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.