improvement
Americannoun
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a change or addition by which a thing is improved.
-
a person or thing that represents an advance on another in excellence or achievement.
The new landlord is a great improvement over his greedy predecessor.
- Synonyms:
- advancement, betterment, refinement
-
a bringing into a more valuable or desirable condition, as of land or real property; betterment.
- Synonyms:
- repair, enhancement
-
something done or added to real property that increases its value.
-
profitable use, as of a period of time.
noun
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the act of improving or the state of being improved
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something that improves, esp an addition or alteration
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alteration of the structure, fixtures, fittings, or decor of a building without changing its function Compare conversion
-
(usually plural) a building or other works on a piece of land, adding to its value
Other Word Forms
- nonimprovement noun
- preimprovement noun
Etymology
Origin of improvement
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English improuement, from Anglo-French emprouement “something profitable (especially exploitation of land)”; improve, -ment
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But locally there are big differences in performance, despite dedicated funding having been set aside to help NHS trusts - which have been given their own individual targets for improvement.
From BBC
It was still a marked improvement on previous years, with 20 errors at this stage of the 2023-24 campaign and 23 in 2022-23.
From BBC
If you were buying a home and the seller suggested that you pay for improvements up front without a clear agreement on reimbursement or price adjustment, would you think that’s fair?
From MarketWatch
Nearly a decade ago, Walmart identified home goods as an area for improvement.
Although a few participants using products that combined THC and CBD reported slight improvements, these changes were too small to be considered clinically meaningful.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
