advance

American  

[ad-vans, -vahns] / ædˈvæns, -ˈvɑns /

verb (used with object)

• advances,
  present (3rd person singular)
• advanced,
  past participle,  past
• advancing
  present participle

1. to move or bring forward.

   The general advanced his troops to the new position.

   Antonyms:

   withdraw

2. to bring into consideration or notice; suggest; propose.

   to advance reasons for a tax cut.

   Synonyms:

   offer, propound, adduce

   Antonyms:

   withdraw

3. to improve; further.

   to advance one's interests.

   Synonyms:

   promote, forward

4. to raise in rank; promote.

   The board of directors advanced him to president.

5. to raise in rate or amount; increase.

   to advance the price.

6. to bring forward in time; accelerate.

   to advance growth;

   to advance clocks one hour.

   Synonyms:

   speed up, hasten, quicken, force

7. to supply beforehand; furnish on credit or before goods are delivered or work is done.

8. to furnish as part of a stock or fund.

9. to supply or pay in expectation of reimbursement.

   They advanced her $5000 against future royalties.

   Synonyms:

   loan, lend

10. to schedule at a later time or date.

    to advance a meeting from early to late fall.

11. Informal. to do advance publicity for.

    to advance a rock singer's personal appearances;

    the most heavily advanced sports event in history.

12. Archaic. to raise, as a banner.

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verb (used without object)

• advances,
  present (3rd person singular)
• advanced,
  past participle,  past
• advancing
  present participle

1. to move or go forward; proceed.

   The troops advanced.

   Antonyms:

   retreat

2. to increase in quantity, value, price, etc..

   His stock advanced three points.

3. (of a color, form, etc., on a flat surface) to move toward or be perceived as moving toward an observer, especially as giving the illusion of space.

4. to improve or make progress.

   Synonyms:

   flourish, thrive, prosper

5. to grow or rise in importance, status, etc..

   to advance in rank.

   Antonyms:

   decrease

6. Informal. to provide publicity; do promotion.

   He was hired to advance for a best-selling author.

noun

• advances
  plural

1. a forward movement; progress in space.

   the advance of the troops to the border.

2. promotion; improvement in importance, rank, etc..

   his advance to the position of treasurer.

   Synonyms:

   advancement, growth

3. Usually advances.

   1. attempts at forming an acquaintanceship, reaching an agreement, or the like, made by one party.

   2. actions or words intended to be sexually inviting.

   Synonyms:

   tender, offer, proposal, overture

4. addition to price; rise in price.

   an advance on cottons.

5. Commerce.

   1. a giving beforehand; a furnishing of something before an equivalent is received.

      An advance on his next month's salary permitted him to pay his debt on time.

   2. the money or goods thus furnished.

      He received $100 as an advance against future delivery.

6. Journalism.

   1. copy prepared before the event it describes has occurred.

      The morning papers carried advances on the ceremony, which will take place tonight.

   2. a press release, wire-service dispatch, or the like, as one containing the text or partial text of a speech, sent to arrive in advance of the event to which it is related.

7. the leading body of an army.

   Synonyms:

   spearhead, van, vanguard, advance guard

8. Military. (formerly) the order or a signal to advance.

9. Informal.

   1. publicity done before the appearance of a noted person, a public event, etc..

      She was hired to do advance for the candidate.

   2. a person hired to do advance publicity for an event.

      He is regarded as the best advance in the business.

10. Automotive, Machinery. an adjustment made in the setting of the distributor of an internal-combustion engine to generate the spark for ignition in each cylinder earlier in the cycle.

11. Geology. a seaward movement of the shoreline.

adjective

1. going or placed before.

   an advance section of a train.

2. made or given ahead of time.

   an advance payment on a loan.

3. issued ahead of time.

   an advance copy of the president's speech.

4. having gone beyond others or beyond the average.

idioms

1. in advance of, in front of; before.

   Heralds walked in advance of the king.

2. in advance, ahead of time; beforehand.

   You must get your tickets in advance.

advance British  

/ ədˈvɑːns /

verb

1. to go or bring forward in position

2. (foll by on) to move (towards) in a threatening manner

3. (tr) to present for consideration; suggest

4. to bring or be brought to a further stage of development; improve; further

5. (tr) to cause (an event) to occur earlier

6. (tr) to supply (money, goods, etc) beforehand, either for a loan or as an initial payment

7. to increase (a price, value, rate of occurrence, etc) or (of a price, etc) to be increased

8. (intr) to improve one's position; be promoted

   he advanced rapidly in his job

9. archaic (tr) to promote in rank, status, or position

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noun

1. forward movement; progress in time or space

2. improvement; progress in development

3. commerce

   1. the supplying of commodities or funds before receipt of an agreed consideration

   2. the commodities or funds supplied in this manner

   3. ( as modifier )

      an advance supply

4. Also called: advance payment.  a money payment made before it is legally due

   this is an advance on your salary

5. a loan of money

6. an increase in price, value, rate of occurrence, etc

7. a less common word for advancement

8. 1. beforehand

      payment in advance

   2. (foll by of) ahead in time or development

      ideas in advance of the time

9. (modifier) forward in position or time

   advance booking

   an advance warning

advance More Idioms  

1. see in advance; make advances.

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Synonym Usage

Advance, move on, proceed all imply movement forward. Advance applies to forward movement, especially toward an objective: to advance to a platform. Proceed emphasizes movement, as from one place to another, and often implies continuing after a halt: to proceed on one's journey. Move on is similar in meaning to proceed; it does not, however, imply a definite goal: The crowd was told to move on.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• advancer
  noun
• overadvance
  verb
• unadvancing
  adjective
• advancingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• advances
  plural

Participles

• advancing
  present
• advanced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• advance
  simple
• advances
  simple
• have advanced
  perfect
• has advanced
  perfect
• am advancing
  progressive
• are advancing
  progressive
• is advancing
  progressive
• have been advancing
  perfect progressive
• has been advancing
  perfect progressive

Past

• advanced
  simple
• had advanced
  perfect
• was advancing
  progressive
• were advancing
  progressive
• had been advancing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will advance
  simple
• will have advanced
  perfect
• will be advancing
  progressive
• will have been advancing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of advance

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English avauncen, from Anglo-French, Old French avanc(i)er, from Vulgar Latin abantiāre (unrecorded), verb derived from Late Latin abante “in front (of ),” from Latin ab “away from, off” + ante “before”; ad- by mistaking a- for a- ⁵ in the 16th century

Explanation

The experience of having a wild monkey advance on you is pretty scary. The verb advance means "move forward purposefully." When you move forward, you advance. You can advance a chess piece on a board, advance toward someone across a room, or observe an army as it advances into a country. Advance also means "make progress," as when you advance your knowledge of Spanish by traveling to Ecuador, or "to loan money," which a bank does by making an advance of a thousand dollars. Since the 1700s, to make advances has also meant to make romantic overtures or to flirt.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

advance advances advanced advancing

"It's pretty easy to go viral for doing something weird and wacky, but that doesn't always advance the objectives of your campaign."

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The group said the homes accounted for about one-third of the planned E1 development and accused the government of trying to advance construction commitments before the vote.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

The advance could give scientists new ways to study and potentially treat neurodegenerative diseases by acting directly inside living cells, where many of the biological processes involved in these conditions begin.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

Then in the eighth, the Dodgers took advantage of an error by Carrigg in center field that allowed Ohtani to advance to second.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

And when we were home, everyone usually had his or her nose stuck in one of the books or advance readers’ copies that Mom brought home from work.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

The company has had talks with administration officials about potential restrictions on Chinese open-weight model providers that are accused of unfairly using advances made by U.S. companies in a process called distillation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Cancer immunotherapy has dramatically changed how doctors treat many forms of cancer, yet pancreatic cancer has remained particularly resistant to these advances.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

Since then, ByteDance has released Seedream 5.0 Pro and Seedance 2.5, which reflect “ByteDance’s continued advances in IP protections,” the tech company and MPA said in a news release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Formula E advances 'could bring ultra-fast charging in five years'

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

It has been responsible for major advances in astronomy, physics, biology, anthropology, economics and politics.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

The trend is particularly pronounced among women under 50 and among those diagnosed with advanced disease or certain aggressive forms of breast cancer.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

The U.S. military is expanding its presence in the Philippines with advanced missile deployments, complex exercises and base upgrades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Ruben Amorim's exit had already seen skipper Bruno Fernandes move into a more advanced role.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Hilton has been needling Becerra for not being as publicly visible on the campaign trail since the two men advanced in the June primary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Ma had taken me in hand, pushing me to cook more complicated dishes, coaching me through the advanced sewing techniques that were second nature to her.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

"The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift a chance to carry out more science while advancing capabilities America will need for satellite servicing in the future," Isaacman added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

According to Israeli media reports, Kushner, Mladenov and Blair will meet Netanyahu on Monday with the aim of advancing Trump's plan.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Importantly, you should master each task or level of difficulty before advancing.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

“The pro-slavery factions were picking on specific verses like ‘slaves obey your masters’ and saying, ‘Well, we’re clearly advancing the more biblical society because look, the Bible says exactly what we’re doing,’” Coffman said.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Jonathan could not take his eyes from the advancing troops.

From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi

Related Words

• advancement
• boost
• breakthrough
• development
• gain
• growth
• increase
• progress
• rise
• step