A breakout pattern is identified when price closes above a prior resistance level — a range high, a recent swing pivot, a session VWAP, a moving average, depending on the trader's framework.
The 'with volume' qualifier matters because thin-volume breakouts (often into low-volume holiday sessions or after-hours) revert more often than they continue. Volume is the rough confirmation that real money is committed at the new price.
False breakouts (also called 'fakeouts') are common — price pokes above the level, traps breakout buyers, then reverses. The journal observation: pure breakout strategies often have lower win rates (35–50%) but higher average R when they work (2R+).
This is a descriptive definition. Whether breakouts work for *your* trades is an empirical question your own data answers — /analytics/setups filtered to 'breakout' shows what your historical win rate and average R have actually been.