1
general::
Phrase(s): 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., Phrase(s): 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.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
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.
American Heritage Idioms