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

Mulkey told nola.com that she spoke with Koval earlier in the offseason before starting the recruiting process with Minaeva.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

"The blackout ultimately served, above all, to accelerate this process," Emília Encarnação of Vista Alegre explains.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Abdi explained that the announcement followed "the completion of the process of integrating our forces into the brigades of the Syrian army".

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

In July, the U.S. declined to renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement in its current form, launching an annual review process and the latest round of friction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

And after Courtney talked about the whole democratic process thing, and frowned when she said heart, how could I put up a poster that didn’t mean anything?

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

Washington is likely to be wary of potential retaliation from Beijing, which processes the majority of the world's rare earths and other critical minerals, crucial in the manufacture of many high-tech products.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

“We fully own that we did make a mistake…As the CEO of the company, the buck stops with me and we should have had better processes in place,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The court’s order says that “This internal directive does not regulate the States’ voter registration processes.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

The firm has also been accused of obscuring its production processes from the public eye.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Confidence in experimental knowledge thus requires the natural/artificial distinction to be undermined and replaced by the conviction that by performing procedures that correspond to natural processes I can have true knowledge of those processes.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Those cells showed widespread changes in gene activity, including shifts in how they processed fuel, reacted to hormones, and detected nutrient availability.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

"The investigation is ongoing... We are still trying to identify the motive," police spokeswoman Shella Chang told AFP, adding the crime scene was now being processed.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Online prediction markets processed $19 billion during the recent soccer tournament.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

This came as processed volumes climbed 24% to 803.8 billion euros.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Breakfast cereal is a great example of why companies love to make processed foods.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Nvidia’s graphics processing units, or GPUs, have been the go-to chips for training large language models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Sediment plumes generated by seabed excavation and processing pose significant risks to ecosystems and public health, said marine scientist Bronwen Currie.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

Musk told investors earlier this month that SpaceX will receive a “very significant percentage” of Nvidia’s graphic processing units in 2027.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

Several truckloads of material have already been transported to nearby Ortum town for processing, with the authorities awaiting the results.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Zita applied for a visa immediately and after many weeks of hassles and bureaucratic processing, she arrived in Los Angeles.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

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