progression

American  

[pruh-gresh-uhn] / prəˈgrɛʃ ən /

noun

• progressions
  plural

1. the act of progressing; forward or onward movement.

2. a passing successively from one member of a series to the next; succession; sequence.

3. Mathematics. a succession of quantities in which there is a constant relation between each member and the one succeeding it.

4. Music. the manner in which chords or melodic tones follow one another; a succession of chords or tones.

5. Astrology. any of a variety of methods of comparing the natal chart to subsequent planetary positions in order to establish an optimum time to accomplish things or to establish the probable time an event occurred or will occur.

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progression British  

/ prəˈɡrɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of progressing; advancement

2. the act or an instance of moving from one thing or unit in a sequence to the next

3. maths a sequence of numbers in which each term differs from the succeeding term by a constant relation See also arithmetic progression geometric progression harmonic progression

4. music movement, esp of a logical kind, from one note to the next ( melodic progression ) or from one chord to the next ( harmonic progression )

5. astrology one of several calculations, based on the movement of the planets, from which it is supposed that one can find the expected developments in a person's birth chart and the probable trends of circumstances for a year in his life

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• progressional
  adjective
• progressionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• progressions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of progression

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin prōgressiōn-, stem of prōgressiō “advancement, forward movement”; equivalent to progress + -ion

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Explanation

A progression is a series that advances in a logical and predictable pattern. In mathematics, for example, the series 2, 4, 6, 8 is an arithmetic progression. If asked to give the next number, most people would reply 10. A movement forward, especially one that advances toward some achievement, is called a progression. When you get your learner's permit, it's a step in the natural progression from child to responsible adult — although you may see it as part of your progression toward freedom. The progression from permit to driver's license includes a few more steps, like highway driving and learning how to parallel park your dad's enormous car.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

progression progressions

The results also suggest that clearing amyloid thoroughly, particularly early in the disease, could help limit tau accumulation and slow the progression of brain damage.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

In May, the company announced that mezigdomide in combination with other treatments led to patients living 18 months without progression, versus eight months in those on existing treatments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The government says it will expand the use of so-called "blitz" or "short trial" courts after pilots have shown that grouping similar cases together can speed up their progression through the courts - cutting backlogs.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

“That decrease in the weight definitely slows down progression of degeneration in the spine or in the joint.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Like that which cycles through Pachelbel’s ‘Canon’, these sequences were driven by the direction of travel of the bass line, giving forward momentum to the music, hence the name ‘harmonic progression’.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Mr. Weir’s approach on rhythm guitar featured intricate chord voicings, sophisticated interplay with Garcia, and modal progressions inspired by 1960s jazz pianists, including McCoy Tyner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026

Clark: I was just looking at every Madonna hit from the ’80s — just studying chord progressions for fun — and it’s a classic move.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2024

And then he wrote this song that kind of had some similar chord progressions in it.

From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2024

Park evokes all of this while maintaining an electrified focus on ordering the Captain's journey into pleasing progressions, like a jazz or funk solo on one of the many American soul songs he loves.

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2024

My progressions are insane, certainly not an advertisement of ability—more like an accounting of a ceramic shop after an earthquake.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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Related Words

• advancement
• breakthrough
• evolution

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