advanced

American  

[ad-vanst, -vahnst] / ædˈvænst, -ˈvɑnst /

adjective

1. placed ahead or forward.

   with one foot advanced.

2. ahead or far or further along in progress, complexity, knowledge, skill, etc..

   an advanced class in Spanish;

   to take a course in advanced mathematics;

   Our plans are too advanced to make the change now.

3. pertaining to or embodying ideas, practices, attitudes, etc., taken as being more enlightened or liberal than the standardized, established, or traditional.

   advanced theories of child care;

   the more advanced members of the artistic community.

4. far along in time.

   the advanced age of most senators.

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advanced British  

/ ədˈvɑːnst /

adjective

1. being ahead in development, knowledge, progress, etc

   advanced studies

2. having reached a comparatively late stage

   a man of advanced age

3. ahead of the times

   advanced views on religion

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Other Word Forms

• well-advanced adjective

Etymology

Origin of advanced

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; advance + -ed ²

Explanation

Use the adjective advanced to describe something that's ahead, especially in terms of growth or development. Your plans to build the world's best tree house are at an advanced stage if you're nearly ready to add a roof and invite your friends to visit. Things are advanced when they happen early or are ahead of the curve or above average. Your advanced reading ability in elementary school might have had your teachers scrambling to keep you interested, and if a scientist's cancer vaccine is at an advanced stage, it's nearly ready to be tested on people. Advanced comes from the verb advance, which comes from the Old French avancier, "move forward," from a Late Latin root word, abante, "from before."

Example Sentences

Arduini said top-line growth came in at the high end of GE HealthCare’s expectations, driven by strong commercial execution across its pharmaceutical diagnostics, advanced visualization solutions and imaging businesses.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

Micron Technology gained 3%, Sandisk surged 7.6%, and Western Digital advanced 6.%, but was well off session highs.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

That’s called strength of schedule, and advanced metrics such as KenPom, NET and Wins Above Bubble usually favor power conference schools.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

To reach this conclusion, researchers combined measurements of the ages of bright giant stars with advanced simulations of galaxy evolution.

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2026

As the night advanced, terror turned to resentment.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Related Words

• leading
• progressive
• state-of-the-art