You describe someone's achievement as path-breaking when they have done something completely different and new which will affect the way in which things are done or considered in the future. Russia's Parliament today approved a path-breaking measure that gives individual farmers a right to buy and sell their own land. Path-breaking work in computing is always risky. Note: You can refer to someone who achieves something path-breaking as a path-breaker. Any male Scot who can make an actor's living for two decades out of being funny and vulnerable, has to be considered a path-breaker. Note: You can also say that people break new paths. Traditional 18-to-22-year-old students are also breaking new paths.