process

American  

[pros-es, proh-ses] / ˈprɒs ɛs, ˈproʊ sɛs /

noun

processes plural

1. a systematic series of actions directed to some end.

   to devise a process for homogenizing milk.

   Synonyms:

   operation

2. a continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite manner.

   the process of decay.

3. Law.

   1. the summons, mandate, or writ by which a defendant or thing is brought before court for litigation.

   2. the whole course of the proceedings in an action at law.

4. Photography. photomechanical or photoengraving methods collectively.

5. Biology, Anatomy. a natural outgrowth, projection, or appendage.

   a process of a bone.

6. the action of going forward or on.

7. the condition of being carried on.

8. course or lapse, as of time.

9. conk.

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verb (used with object)

processes, present (3rd person singular) processed, past participle, past processing present participle

1. to treat or prepare by some particular series of actions, as in manufacturing.

2. to handle (papers, records, etc.) by systematically organizing them, recording or making notations on them, following up with appropriate action, or the like.

   to process mail.

3. to mentally or emotionally deal with and make sense of.

   Cognitive therapy can be helpful in processing traumatic events and experiences.

   The disease affects the brain's ability to process bodily sensations.

4. to require (someone) to answer questionnaires, perform various tasks, and sometimes to undergo physical and aptitude classification examinations before the beginning or termination of a period of service.

   The army processes all personnel entering or leaving the service.

5. to convert (an agricultural commodity) into marketable form by a special series of steps, as pasteurization.

6. to institute a legal process against; prosecute.

7. to serve a process or summons on.

8. Computers. to carry out operations on (data or programs).

9. conk.

verb (used without object)

processes, present (3rd person singular) processed, past participle, past processing present participle

1. to deal with something mentally or emotionally and make sense of it.

   That movie completely blew me away—I’m still processing a week later.

2. to undergo administrative activities involved in hiring or firing personnel, organizing and reviewing information to make a decision, etc..

   The recruits are expected to process in four days.

   Your application for admission is still processing, but you should hear from us shortly.

adjective

1. prepared or modified by an artificial process or procedure.

   process cheese.

2. noting, pertaining to, or involving photomechanical or photoengraving methods.

   a process print.

3. Informal. of or relating to hair that has been conked, or chemically straightened.

4. Movies. created by or used in process cinematography.

   a moving background on a process screen.

process ¹ British  

/ ˈprəʊsɛs /

noun

1. a series of actions that produce a change or development

   the process of digestion

2. a method of doing or producing something

3. a forward movement

4. the course of time

5. 1. a summons, writ, etc, commanding a person to appear in court

   2. the whole proceedings in an action at law

6. a natural outgrowth or projection of a part, organ, or organism

7. a distinct subtask of a computer system which can be regarded as proceeding in parallel with other subtasks of the system

8. (modifier) relating to the general preparation of a printing forme or plate by the use, at some stage, of photography

9. (modifier) denoting a film, film scene, shot, etc, made by techniques that produce unusual optical effects

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verb

1. to subject to a routine procedure; handle

2. to treat or prepare by a special method, esp to treat (food) in order to preserve it

   to process cheese

3. 1. to institute legal proceedings against

   2. to serve a process on

4. photog

   1. to develop, rinse, fix, wash, and dry (exposed film, etc)

   2. to produce final prints or slides from (undeveloped film)

5. computing to perform mathematical and logical operations on (data) according to programmed instructions in order to obtain the required information

6. to prepare (food) using a food processor

process ² British  

/ prəˈsɛs /

verb

1. (intr) to proceed in or as if in a procession

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Pronunciation

The word process, an early 14th century French borrowing, has a regularly formed plural that adds -es to the singular. This plural, as in similar words like recesses and successes, has traditionally been pronounced : or . Recent years have seen the increasing popularity of an pronunciation for processes, perhaps by mistaken analogy with such plurals as theses and hypotheses, with which it has no connection. Although this newer pronunciation is increasingly common, it is regarded by some educated speakers as an affectation.

Usage

What are other ways to say process? A process is a systematic series of actions directed to some end. When should you use this noun over procedure or proceeding? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Synonym Usage

Process, procedure, proceeding apply to something that goes on or takes place. A process is a series of progressive and interdependent steps by which an end is attained: a chemical process. Procedure usually implies a formal or set order of doing a thing, a method of conducting affairs: parliamentary procedure. Proceeding (usually pl.) applies to what goes on or takes place on a given occasion or to the records of the occasion: Proceedings of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• transprocess
  noun
• preprocess
  verb
• overprocess
  verb (used with object)
• reprocess
  verb (used with object)
• processual
  adjective
• semiprocessed
  adjective
• unprocessed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• processes
  plural

Participles

• processing
  present
• processed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• process
  simple
• processes
  simple
• have processed
  perfect
• has processed
  perfect
• am processing
  progressive
• are processing
  progressive
• is processing
  progressive
• have been processing
  perfect progressive
• has been processing
  perfect progressive

Past

• processed
  simple
• had processed
  perfect
• was processing
  progressive
• were processing
  progressive
• had been processing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will process
  simple
• will have processed
  perfect
• will be processing
  progressive
• will have been processing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of process

First recorded in 1275–1325; from Middle English proces (noun), from Old French, from Latin prōcessus “a going forward,” equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + ced-, variant stem of cēdere “to yield” + -tus suffix of verbal action, with dt > ss ; see cede, cession

Explanation

A process is a procedure, something you do in order to achieve a certain result. Some people try to carefully follow all the steps in a process. Other people just wing it. You hear this word being used a lot to describe work. "I am in the process of drafting a memo, even if I kill myself with late nights in the process." The related word procession describes people or vehicles moving forward in an orderly way — a wedding opens with the bridal procession.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

process processes processed processing

That raw information allows anyone to run a model on specialized hardware and to build on top of the model, altering its weights with additional data in a process called fine-tuning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Since the patients can’t tell you what’s wrong, it becomes a long process of ruling out diagnoses one by one, while providing supportive care and watching how the animal responds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

Jorge Rodriguez, who also is the interim leader's brother, said he hoped to launch an "inclusive and efficient" negotiating process.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

This process, it is felt, could take two months.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

The cop answers, “Assuming he successfully completes their process, this case will be dismissed.”

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Scientists are now studying the newly discovered formations to determine which of these processes, or possibly a combination of them, shaped the landscape in Valle Grande.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

More recently, ICE has invested in the plumbing of the U.S. mortgage market, betting that its legacy, paper-based processes are overdue for digital transformation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

"Rather, it has exposed fundamental weaknesses in Fifa's consultation and decision-making processes that must now be addressed."

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

She searched the data for narrowband radio signals, which could be more consistent with artificial technology than with natural processes in space.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

Our aim should be to guide natural processes as cautiously as possible in the desired direction rather than to use brute force.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Metering usage by tokens — the individual units of data processed by an AI model — is becoming a major headache.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

In the quarter, payments volume and processed transactions both rose 10% from the year-ago period, while cross-border volumes increased 13%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Rather than send wheat to Minneapolis to be processed, incurring high transportation costs, farmers and the state banded together to form the North Dakota Mill, the only state-owned mill in the United States.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

The problem is especially important for AI servers and next-generation data centers, where enormous amounts of information must be processed in real time.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

Another wave of loud relief as everyone processed this new information.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

“It is whether the crude can move, be refined and reach the right market without rising freight, insurance and processing costs.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

The agriculture company, which helps farmers with processing and management, on Wednesday posted a profit of $678 million, or $3.47 a share, compared with $354 million, or $2.61 a share, a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Art became her way of processing those anxieties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Apply for benefits up to four months before your 70th birthday to avoid processing delays.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

Although neurologists are still exploring how the auditory cortex functions, they now believe that music processing is actually much more complex then initially imagined, and involves many more parts of the brain than previously thought.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• action
• case
• course
• development
• growth
• means
• measure
• mechanism
• movement
• operation
• practice
• procedure
• proceeding
• progress
• rule
• step
• system
• technique
• trial
• way