breakthrough

/ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/

//ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"breakthrough" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“breakthrough” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,143. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,143
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
19
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Characterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-breakthrough · breakthrough · English

breakthrough · rank #9,143 · 19 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,143
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH BP

Nearest frequency peer: BP (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “breakthrough”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “breakthrough” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for breakthrough
PropertyValue
Headwordbreakthrough
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/
Letters12
Frequency rank#9,143
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “breakthrough”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).breakthroughlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “BP” (#9,142), “Boyd” (#9,141), “CE” (#9,145). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “breakthrough” is #9,143. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around breakthrough (IPA /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,143 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for breakthrough, with forms such as "bbreakthrough", "berakthrough", and "braekthrough". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”). The correct English form is breakthrough, spelled B-R-E-A-K-T-H-R-O-U-G-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Characterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.
  2. 2
    Involving 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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how breakthrough appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a breakthrough technological advance
  2. 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.

Etymology

From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”).

This word in other languages

capital(Français)bahnbrechend(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbreakthrough
  • berakthrough
  • braekthrough
  • breakhtrough
  • breakkthrough
  • breakthhrough
  • breakthorugh
  • breakthroguh
  • breakthrouggh
  • breakthroughh
  • breakthrouhg
  • breakthrrough
  • breakthruogh
  • breaktrhough
  • breaktthrough
  • breatkhrough
  • brekathrough
  • brreakthrough
  • rbeakthrough

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of breakthrough - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbreakthrough1berakthrough2braekthrough2breakhtrough2breakkthrough1breakthhrough1breakthorugh2breakthroguh2
Edit distance from "breakthrough"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "breakthrough"?
"breakthrough" is spelled B-R-E-A-K-T-H-R-O-U-G-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/.
What does "breakthrough" mean?
As an adjective, "breakthrough" means: Characterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.
What are common misspellings of "breakthrough"?
Common misspellings include "bbreakthrough", "berakthrough", "braekthrough", "breakhtrough", "breakkthrough". The correct spelling is "breakthrough".
How do you pronounce "breakthrough"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "breakthrough" is /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "breakthrough"?
From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "breakthrough", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

combinations#9,150differential#9,167economically#9,174investigator#9,197

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

undergraduate19 variantsbibliography19 variantscongregation19 variantsgovernmental19 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list