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Breakthrough vs Headway - What's the difference?

breakthrough | headway |

As nouns the difference between breakthrough and headway

is that breakthrough is an advance through and past enemy lines while headway is movement ahead or forward.

As an adjective breakthrough

is characterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.

breakthrough

English

Alternative forms

* breakthru

Adjective

(-)
  • Characterized by major progress or overcoming some obstacle.
    • a breakthrough technological advance

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (military) An advance through and past enemy lines.
  • Any major progress; such as a great innovation or discovery that overcomes a significant obstacle.
    • .
  • (sports) The penetration of the opposition defence
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=September 29 , author=Jon Smith , title=Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=But with the lively Dos Santos pulling the strings behind strikers Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, Spurs controlled the first half without finding the breakthrough their dominance deserved.}}

    Derived terms

    * breakthrough pain

    headway

    English

    Noun

  • Movement ahead or forward.
  • (nautical) Forward motion, or its rate.
  • (countable, transport) The interval of time or distance between the fronts of two vehicles (e.g. buses) moving in succession in the same direction, especially along the same pre-determined route.
  • (uncountable, figuratively) Progress toward a goal.
  • (countable) The clearance beneath an object, such as an arch, ceiling or bridge; headroom.
  • (coal-mining) A cross-heading.

    • Derived terms

    * make headway

    See also

    * seaway