WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

break through
    v 1: pass through (a barrier); "Registrations cracked through
         the 30,000 mark in the county" [syn: break through,
         crack]
    2: penetrate; "The sun broke through the clouds"; "The rescue
       team broke through the wall in the mine shaft" [syn: break
       through, come through]
    3: break out; "The tooth erupted and had to be extracted" [syn:
       erupt, come out, break through, push through]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

47 Moby Thesaurus words for "break through":
   achieve success, advance, arrive, be a success, breach, break in,
   break into, break open, break out, burst in, bust in, cave in,
   come forth, come on, come out, come through, cut a swath, debouch,
   emerge, erupt, exit, find vent, force open, get ahead, get on,
   get there, go far, go places, have it made, issue, issue forth,
   leak out, make a breakthrough, make a success, make good,
   make headway, make it, make the scene, ooze out, prize open,
   progress, rise, run out, rupture, split open, stove in,
   tear open