to break through

Examples

• All

• The rescue team managed to break through the collapsed building to find survivors.

• They soon began breaking through the thin Marine lines.

• We only care about breaking through and then telling our story.

• With that, we can easily break through the wall.

  The Suckling (1990)

• Open this door, or I'll break through it and grab you!

  The Sixth Sense (1999)

• So you have to break through that mental barrier

  Evan Carmichael

• Let's break through this barrier together.

  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

• Mobilize the National Guard up to Barrow... with a ship that can break through the ice.

  Big Miracle (2012)

• Equilibrium was restored, but then Caesar's cavalry broke through on his left.

• But one of the Borg ships has broken through our defenses, and it's heading directly for Earth.

  Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

P

to penetrate

vsto break through

175 4.1

Move through something with effort, for example thick curtains or a jungle

is often a sudden emergence from an obstacle rather than slow entry

B

to breach

vsto break through

67 4.2

To make an opening in a wall or barrier

focuses on emerging through that gap suddenly rather than only making the gap

C

to cut through

vsto break through

51 3.0

To go straight across a place, for example through land or a crowd

implies a sudden emergence rather than simply taking a direct route

C

to come through

vsto break through

49 3.8

To move through something from one side to the other

often includes sudden forceful emergence rather than neutral passing without force

B

to break open

vsto break through

13 2.1

To open something suddenly by force, for example a locked door or jar

involves a sudden exit through an opening rather than only creating an opening

P

to push one's way through

vsto break through

4 3.9

Move forward by getting past people or things blocking the way

often appears suddenly when forcing an opening rather than by slow effort

P

to push through

vsto break through

4 3.8

To break through soil or skin when new growth appears

is more general and sudden for many obstacles, not limited to growth

P

to pierce through

vsto break through

3 4.4

Move into and through something by making a hole or gap

is more about bursting out suddenly rather than narrow sharp penetration

P

to plough one's way through

vsto break through

• UK

1 7.4

To move forward with difficulty through people or things with effort

usually contrasts as sudden forceful appearance rather than slow steady progress

P

to push one's way past

vsto break through

• Informal

5.6

Move forward through a crowd by forcing people aside with your body

is more sudden when moving through a barrier than that gradual motion

Antonyms

G

to get stuck

180 2.2

To be unable to move or continue because something blocks you

B

to blockade

1 6.1

To stop someone or something from making progress

How Forceful

to break through

43 3.7

to push through

4 3.8

squeeze

4 3.0

to get through

332 2.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology