process

American  

[pros-es, proh-ses] / ˈprɒs ɛs, ˈproʊ sɛs /

noun

• processes
  plural

1. a systematic series of actions directed to some end.

   to devise a process for homogenizing milk.

   Synonyms:

   operation

2. a continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite manner.

   the process of decay.

3. Law.

   1. the summons, mandate, or writ by which a defendant or thing is brought before court for litigation.

   2. the whole course of the proceedings in an action at law.

4. Photography. photomechanical or photoengraving methods collectively.

5. Biology, Anatomy. a natural outgrowth, projection, or appendage.

   a process of a bone.

6. the action of going forward or on.

7. the condition of being carried on.

8. course or lapse, as of time.

9. conk.

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verb (used with object)

• processes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• processed,
  past participle,  past
• processing
  present participle

1. to treat or prepare by some particular series of actions, as in manufacturing.

2. to handle (papers, records, etc.) by systematically organizing them, recording or making notations on them, following up with appropriate action, or the like.

   to process mail.

3. to mentally or emotionally deal with and make sense of.

   Cognitive therapy can be helpful in processing traumatic events and experiences.

   The disease affects the brain's ability to process bodily sensations.

4. to require (someone) to answer questionnaires, perform various tasks, and sometimes to undergo physical and aptitude classification examinations before the beginning or termination of a period of service.

   The army processes all personnel entering or leaving the service.

5. to convert (an agricultural commodity) into marketable form by a special series of steps, as pasteurization.

6. to institute a legal process against; prosecute.

7. to serve a process or summons on.

8. Computers. to carry out operations on (data or programs).

9. conk.

verb (used without object)

• processes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• processed,
  past participle,  past
• processing
  present participle

1. to deal with something mentally or emotionally and make sense of it.

   That movie completely blew me away—I’m still processing a week later.

2. to undergo administrative activities involved in hiring or firing personnel, organizing and reviewing information to make a decision, etc..

   The recruits are expected to process in four days.

   Your application for admission is still processing, but you should hear from us shortly.

adjective

1. prepared or modified by an artificial process or procedure.

   process cheese.

2. noting, pertaining to, or involving photomechanical or photoengraving methods.

   a process print.

3. Informal. of or relating to hair that has been conked, or chemically straightened.

4. Movies. created by or used in process cinematography.

   a moving background on a process screen.

process ¹ British  

/ ˈprəʊsɛs /

noun

1. a series of actions that produce a change or development

   the process of digestion

2. a method of doing or producing something

3. a forward movement

4. the course of time

5. 1. a summons, writ, etc, commanding a person to appear in court

   2. the whole proceedings in an action at law

6. a natural outgrowth or projection of a part, organ, or organism

7. a distinct subtask of a computer system which can be regarded as proceeding in parallel with other subtasks of the system

8. (modifier) relating to the general preparation of a printing forme or plate by the use, at some stage, of photography

9. (modifier) denoting a film, film scene, shot, etc, made by techniques that produce unusual optical effects

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verb

1. to subject to a routine procedure; handle

2. to treat or prepare by a special method, esp to treat (food) in order to preserve it

   to process cheese

3. 1. to institute legal proceedings against

   2. to serve a process on

4. photog

   1. to develop, rinse, fix, wash, and dry (exposed film, etc)

   2. to produce final prints or slides from (undeveloped film)

5. computing to perform mathematical and logical operations on (data) according to programmed instructions in order to obtain the required information

6. to prepare (food) using a food processor

process ² British  

/ prəˈsɛs /

verb

1. (intr) to proceed in or as if in a procession

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Pronunciation

The word process, an early 14th century French borrowing, has a regularly formed plural that adds -es to the singular. This plural, as in similar words like recesses and successes, has traditionally been pronounced : or . Recent years have seen the increasing popularity of an pronunciation for processes, perhaps by mistaken analogy with such plurals as theses and hypotheses, with which it has no connection. Although this newer pronunciation is increasingly common, it is regarded by some educated speakers as an affectation.

Usage

What are other ways to say process? A process is a systematic series of actions directed to some end. When should you use this noun over procedure or proceeding? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Synonym Usage

Process, procedure, proceeding apply to something that goes on or takes place. A process is a series of progressive and interdependent steps by which an end is attained: a chemical process. Procedure usually implies a formal or set order of doing a thing, a method of conducting affairs: parliamentary procedure. Proceeding (usually pl.) applies to what goes on or takes place on a given occasion or to the records of the occasion: Proceedings of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• transprocess
  noun
• preprocess
  verb
• overprocess
  verb (used with object)
• reprocess
  verb (used with object)
• processual
  adjective
• semiprocessed
  adjective
• unprocessed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• processes
  plural

Participles

• processing
  present
• processed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• process
  simple
• processes
  simple
• have processed
  perfect
• has processed
  perfect
• am processing
  progressive
• are processing
  progressive
• is processing
  progressive
• have been processing
  perfect progressive
• has been processing
  perfect progressive

Past

• processed
  simple
• had processed
  perfect
• was processing
  progressive
• were processing
  progressive
• had been processing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will process
  simple
• will have processed
  perfect
• will be processing
  progressive
• will have been processing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of process

First recorded in 1275–1325; from Middle English proces (noun), from Old French, from Latin prōcessus “a going forward,” equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + ced-, variant stem of cēdere “to yield” + -tus suffix of verbal action, with dt > ss ; see cede, cession

Explanation

A process is a procedure, something you do in order to achieve a certain result. Some people try to carefully follow all the steps in a process. Other people just wing it. You hear this word being used a lot to describe work. "I am in the process of drafting a memo, even if I kill myself with late nights in the process." The related word procession describes people or vehicles moving forward in an orderly way — a wedding opens with the bridal procession.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

process processes processed processing

He added: "Further to this, such an operation would in my view have had not only catastrophic long-term consequences for trust and confidence in policing, but for the Northern Ireland Executive and the peace process."

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Anthropic told the Philadelphia police that the company discovered the incident on Sept. 28, and terminated the automated testing process responsible for the submission, the department said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Brandon Swanson, the acting city administrator, said of the addressing process that “for this big of an institutional change, it’s going pretty smoothly.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Anthropic discovered the incident on September 28, shut down the automated testing process responsible and added a new validation step for future tests, police said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

We sit in silence for a bit while I process that.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

A March survey from Mercer found that “55% of asset managers report AI is integrated in at least one of their strategy’s investment processes, 27% are at pilot/proof-of-concept, and only 18% report no integration yet.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Walmart started trying versions of the systems more than a decade ago, often in a 1.6 million-square-foot warehouse in Brooksville, Fla., that processes nonperishable goods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

As well as reminding its existing employees of the principles of compassionate care, the trust has embedded a question about it into its recruitment processes.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

"These planets are too hot for life, but by studying them, we can say something about the processes that matter for other rocky worlds."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Our technology can duplicate only a tiny fraction of the intricate biochemistry that our bodies effortlessly perform: we have only just begun to study these processes.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

CEO Bruce Taylor said the company won’t sell iceberg lettuce in the U.S. or Canada that was harvested or processed in the region between May 1 and Aug. 31, starting next year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Industrial trans fats, which can be present in some processed and fried foods, have been strongly linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Some AI computing power and data will be processed locally, or on the device, while other applications are still handled remotely via Microsoft's cloud computing services.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Fewer than a million barrels of processed oil products passed through the Strait of Hormuz on average in the last week, down from 3.5 million per day before the war began.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

The officer read the citations and explained that even though they were all misdemeanors, I had been processed and would still have to appear in court.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

Ware also suggests designating a spot in, or near each room, to be your processing center.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

For him, its message is a straightforward one - that "men should talk to each other a bit more about what they are feeling and how they are processing things".

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Yet governments have increasingly pushed citizens to recycle paper, glass and plastics worth less than the cost of collecting and processing them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Apple unveiled two desktop computers in September, the Mac mini and Mac Studio, which it touted as powerful new options capable of processing AI software locally.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Mom nods a few times, processing my rush of questions.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Related Words

• action
• case
• course
• development
• growth
• means
• measure
• mechanism
• movement
• operation
• practice
• procedure
• proceeding
• progress
• rule
• step
• system
• technique
• trial
• way