improvement
Americannoun
-
improvements
plural
-
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
-
the act of improving or the state of being improved
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of improvement
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English improuement, from Anglo-French emprouement “something profitable (especially exploitation of land)”; see improve, -ment
Explanation
When there's improvement, something is getting better. Going from a C to an A in math is an improvement. If you want to improve something, you've got to make improvements. Lots of people strive for personal improvement: maybe it's losing a few pounds for an improvement in their appearance, or reading more for an improvement in intelligence. Businesses look for improvement in customer service or profitability. Any change for the better or step in the right direction is an improvement.
Vocabulary lists containing improvement
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 6
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 13
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-ment
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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.
See Examples For:
Neither schedule maintained a statistically significant improvement in diastolic blood pressure.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
"We've seen a vast improvement," Darren Panniers of the Welsh Ambulance Service says.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
That rapid improvement meant it was ready for a more grueling test of mathematical knowledge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
That improvement could be especially important as large language models, automated content moderation, and other AI technologies increasingly depend on understanding human communication.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
Most importantly, they told me, it would mean a massive improvement to how I looked.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
After the first four weeks, all four exercise groups showed significant improvements compared with the control group.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
Anthropic has maintained a strong balance sheet thanks to rapid revenue growth and improvements in its use of computing power, the company said in its filing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
The vacations, new cars, and home improvements continued, but they began talking about money in ways they never had before.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026
The health board said it was addressing the concerns, and looking at improvements in the way it works with universities and research institutions.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
In later years, the International Red Cross sent more liberal men who wholeheartedly fought for improvements.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
