improve on

Idioms  

1. Make beneficial additions or changes to, as in The company is trying to improve on the previous model. [Late 1600s]

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Example Sentences

The agency’s main criticism was that its trial lacked a control arm, though this would be unethical in late-stage patients who failed to improve on other therapies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

The party is hoping to improve on 2021's result, when Dodds was returned as the only Welsh Liberal Democrat with a Senedd seat.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

"But they offer a trajectory for improvement. We need to continue to improve on multiple areas -- materials, circuits and packaging -- to make this technology ready for data center applications."

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026

“It has just been the fact that we couldn’t see the threat evolving and what we’re facing. So we definitely have to improve on that.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

If you needed to illustrate the idea of nineteenth-century America as a land of opportunity, you could hardly improve on the life of Albert Michelson.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson