[make] inroads (into|on) {sth}
1
to have a significant impact or influence on something
The idiom "make inroads into something" has its origins in military language. "Inroads" originally referred to the invasion or penetration of enemy territory. Over time, the phrase evolved to represent efforts to gain progress, influence, or access in various fields.
- By the 1950s, television had made great inroads into the territory of the news magazines.
- Foreign car manufacturers have made inroads into the European market.
- Tax rises have made some inroads into the country's national debt.
- The apparent economic and political success of the cooperatives and the dismantling of large states were making inroads on the established class of hacendados.
- They made inroads on their own traditional attachment to ' capital ' and implemented a tax on short-term capital gains in 1962.