Break through means to force your way past a barrier: through a crowd, a fence, a line of defence. People say the same about the sun: The sun broke through, meaning it came out from behind the clouds. The noun is written as one word: breakthrough.
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break through + crowd/barrier/clouds; the sun breaks through; a breakthrough (noun) in + field
- The fans broke through the barrier and ran onto the pitch after the final whistle.
- By noon the sun had broken through, so we finally went down to the beach.
What changed
First versionScientists made a big break through in cancer research.
RevisionScientists made a big breakthrough in cancer research.
After a big you need a noun, and that noun is one word: breakthrough. Break through written as two words is the verb. A spellchecker won't help here: both forms exist, and the two-word version looks correct. You can also hear the difference: the noun is stressed on break, the verb on through.
Break through means to get all the way past a barrier. Break into means to get inside somewhere, usually illegally: Someone broke into our car last night. The police might break through a crowd, while a thief breaks into a flat.
Your turn
This new vaccine is a real ___ in medicine.
Show the answer
breakthrough — After a real you need a noun, and that noun is written as one word: breakthrough. Break through as two words is a verb, and it can't follow an article.
Describe a moment when something broke through: the sun, a crowd, water. Say where and when it happened.
On the last morning of our trip to Scotland, the sun broke through the clouds just as we reached the top of the hill.
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