advancement

American  

[ad-vans-muhnt, -vahns-] / ædˈvæns mənt, -ˈvɑns- /

noun

1. the act or process of moving forward.

   They hoped that destroying bridges around the metropolis would slow the advancement of enemy troops.

2. promotion in rank or standing; preferment.

   She had high hopes for advancement in the company.

3. development toward increased understanding, quality, utility, or benefit to human welfare in a consequential area of knowledge, technology, or practice.

   She toiled in the lab out of personal ambition, not for the advancement of medical science.

4. an achievement or result contributing to progress in a consequential area of knowledge, technology, or practice.

   Advancements in robotics will transform industry.

5. Law. money or property given by one person during their lifetime to another that is considered an anticipation of an inheritance and is therefore to be deducted from any share that the recipient may have in a donor's estate.

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advancement British  

/ ədˈvɑːnsmənt /

noun

1. promotion in rank, status, etc; preferment

2. a less common word for advance advance

3. property law the use during a testator's lifetime of money or property for the benefit of a child or other person who is a prospective beneficiary in the testator's will

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Other Word Forms

• nonadvancement
  noun
• self-advancement
  noun

Etymology

Origin of advancement

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English avauncement, from Anglo-French, Old French avancement; see advance, -ment

Explanation

Use the noun advancement when you talk about something's growth or progress. The advancement of modern medicine has lengthened many people's lives. You might describe a society's advancement as a result of new industries and an improved economy. You could also cheer your best friend's advancement in her French class, being moved to a higher level because of her hard work. When you advance, you move forward — either literally or figuratively. Advancement comes from this idea of moving in a positive direction and its Old French root word avancier, "move forward," from the Late Latin abante, "in front."

Example Sentences

Musk spent three days on the stand portraying himself as a selfless benefactor seeking to reconcile the advancement of AI with the preservation of humanity.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Other prominent voices seem bent on convincing us that telework plays a significant negative factor in women’s career advancement.

From Salon • May 10, 2026

But many were branded unreliable, faced barriers to work and advancement, and lived under a lasting cloud of suspicion.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

Dusten Conlon, a former preschool teacher laid off last year, said that in one case, administrators overruled teachers’ recommendations on grade advancement for a child of a donor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

The assignments, quite honestly, made me feel guilty for growing up in a time with a life-changing advancement, sort of like how we have medicine to cure common diseases that killed others in the past.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

Related Words

• advance
• growth
• improvement
• upgrading