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

In the statement on Sunday, Panettiere’s father said the family asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Fighting discrimination at scale will require that colleges publish admissions data and bring transparency to a process that still appears to treat applicants differently by race.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

By prompting nerve growth inside the tumor, the process may contribute to cancer progression and resistance to treatment.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

The process is to be led by Dr Martin Blake, a former Chief Veterinary Officer for Ireland and is expected to report by early autumn.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

When things go wrong, you have to figure out what happened—whether it’s people, the process, the mechanical systems, electrical systems.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Retailers Amazon.com and Walmart have each invested heavily to automate and speed up more of their fulfillment processes to get online orders to customers as fast as possible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The broader effects of compound 10 suggest that interfering with GRK2 aggregation may influence more than Alzheimer's related processes.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

Most said they have processes in place to disclose material information outside of semiannual reporting periods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

“An unknown number of agents are constantly arriving in Minnesota without any knowledge of the investigation, the issues already discussed and decided, and the processes they need to follow,” Teirab complained.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

The answer: knowledge of natural processes based on evidence.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

In Spencer’s case, Burton processed the biological evidence used to convict him and testified as a forensic analyst during his trials.

From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026

“The vast majority of refunds are processed within a week, and when issues arise it is often because a buyer’s payment information needs to be updated,” the spokesperson said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

While the Social Security Administration has already processed most adjustments and issued many retroactive payments, some retirees are still waiting because of administrative backlogs and complex eligibility cases, according to the publication Government Executive.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

It was something that I’ve processed and am still processing, and it was easy to transfer that into Season 3.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The floating box shuffled left and right, then glowed as it stamped and processed her letter, ready to send it straight to the Stariary.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Researchers examined how physical activity, sedentary behavior, and screen time from childhood through adolescence were related to cognitive processing in the teenage years.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

I have to give that credit to processing those things to my parents because that is all them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Note: Disbursements and refund submissions accepted for processing as of July 31.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

It’s the latest iteration of Nvidia’s vendor-financing playbook, whereby the company has invested into various parts of the AI-infrastructure ecosystem that run on its graphics processing units.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

I’m frozen, still processing the meaning of her words.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Related Words

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