- present participle of proceed.
proceeding
Americannoun
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proceedings
plural
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a particular action or course or manner of action.
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proceedings, a series of activities or events; happenings.
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the act of a person or thing that proceeds.
Our proceeding down the mountain was hindered by mud slides.
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proceedings, a record of the doings or transactions of a fraternal, academic, etc., society.
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Law. proceedings,
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the instituting or carrying on of an action at law.
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a legal step or measure.
to institute proceedings against a person.
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noun
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an act or course of action
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the institution of a legal action
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any step taken in a legal action
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(plural) the minutes of the meetings of a club, society, etc
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(plural) legal action; litigation
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(plural) the events of an occasion, meeting, etc
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
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."
Vocabulary lists containing proceeding
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The Crucible
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"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said everything was proceeding "according to plan", and paid tribute to US mediation and in particular representatives of Melania Trump.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Army spokeswoman Ellen Lovett said the timeline shifted to ensure safety and technical standards were being met, and the service is proceeding with safety and other improvements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
“I propose a new, audacious, and perhaps desperate strategy: a ‘jailbreak,’ ” it wrote to two others, proceeding to divvy up research tasks.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
Part of that land is now the target of an eminent domain proceeding to make room for a huge transmission tower.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
He quite naturally and casually took a nip at her hand before proceeding toward romance.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Nashiri was charged in April 2011 with offenses including murder in violation of the law of war and terrorism, but his case has been mired in pre-trial proceedings for years.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
There were no legal proceedings, but the ATP Tour opened a major investigation that was carried out by third-party investigators.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania also suffered a stroke that year while campaigning for office and now uses live-captioning technology to assist with auditory processing during Senate proceedings.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
Lawyers for a second fraternity member, Winston Lee, have argued that James’s comment has prejudiced any future grand jury proceedings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
He stood viewing the proceedings with disgust, lips pursed and hands on hips.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
