Showing results for "proceeding"

• present participle of proceed.

proceeding

American  

[pruh-see-ding] / prəˈsi dɪŋ /

noun

proceedings plural

1. a particular action or course or manner of action.

2. proceedings, a series of activities or events; happenings.

3. the act of a person or thing that proceeds.

   Our proceeding down the mountain was hindered by mud slides.

4. proceedings, a record of the doings or transactions of a fraternal, academic, etc., society.

5. Law. proceedings,

   1. the instituting or carrying on of an action at law.

   2. a legal step or measure.

      to institute proceedings against a person.

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proceeding British  

/ prəˈsiːdɪŋ /

noun

1. an act or course of action

2. 1. the institution of a legal action

   2. any step taken in a legal action

3. (plural) the minutes of the meetings of a club, society, etc

4. (plural) legal action; litigation

5. (plural) the events of an occasion, meeting, etc

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Usage

What are other ways to say proceeding?

The noun proceeding refers to a particular course or manner of action. The plural proceedings refers to a series of activities or events, or to a record of the doings or transactions of a social club or academic society. Do you know when to use proceedings instead of procedure or process? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• proceedings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of proceeding

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at proceed, -ing ¹

Explanation

The noun proceeding (often pluralized as proceedings) is used in legal settings to show something is happening, or moving forward: "During the legal proceedings the judge declared him mentally unbalanced." Most of the time, the noun proceeding is used in law to show that a sequence of actions have taken place, leading up to judgment day in court. If you move forward with legal proceedings, you might start by filing a lawsuit or a claim against someone. Outside of the law, the noun is also used to show the steps taken, that there is involvement with a process or venture, or that progress is being made: "He took the necessary proceedings to make sure everything was okay."

Example Sentences

Proceeding this work, the team first laid out the statistical methods and protocol to ensure they were feeding the AI the right balanced diet of data.

From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2024

Proceeding as if the council’s resolution never passed could threaten the council’s authority, but withdrawing the January bonuses could be a legal risk, Herbold said.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2022

Proceeding to trial in the hundreds of lawsuits would be a massive misuse of public resources and a years-long folly.

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2021

Proceeding while there are serious doubts about a defendant's competence could be a crime against the defendant.

From Salon • Feb. 6, 2020

Proceeding in the same way, we can compare modern Taiwanese, Philippine, Indonesian, and Polynesian languages to reconstruct a Proto-Austronesian language spoken in the distant past.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• action
• course of action
• exercise
• experiment
• incident
• measure
• operation
• procedure
• process
• transaction