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

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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

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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

The images date back as far as the 1840s when the Daguerrotype process that popularized photography and made images printed on silver-plated copper sheets common keepsakes.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Authorities overseeing the process have completed autopsies on all 69 people killed in the crash, with 56 identified so far, according to their latest update.

From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026

For Eleanor's family, the trust's acceptance of responsibility and public apology are important, but this follows a long and painful process.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

This vouching process itself accounted for fewer than 0.6% of votes cast in Minnesota’s 2024 general election, according to state election officials.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026

It surprised him enough that he jumped out of his seat to greet her, bumping the table and spilling some of his juice in the process.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Combined with computer modeling, these measurements helped establish how the different microscopic processes worked together to prevent brittle failure.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

His decline is probably affecting how he processes things.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

Across the country, state officials of both parties have been bracing for their electoral processes to come under a microscope, and their contingency planning has reached new heights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Because movement-triggered chronic back pain engages different brain networks from ordinary acute pain, researchers believe traditional treatments may fail to address some of the processes that sustain the experience of chronic pain.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

The belief that terrestrial processes were gradual had been elemental in natural history since the time of Lyell.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

But as asylum seekers generally cannot apply for other visas while their applications are processed in New Zealand, it was declined.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

With all of these changes, borrowers have complained that they have struggled to obtain basic information about their loans and to get paperwork processed in a timely fashion.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

Once officials have confirmed you are registered to vote in that county, your ballot is then processed and counted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

In August, more than half of the text it handled was processed by open models, up from 13 percent in April.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

By the early 1900s, meatpacking had centralized: nearly 90 percent of all beef inspected east of the Rocky Mountains was processed by six big companies.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

“Election Day is around the corner. Ballots have already been issued. Americans have already begun voting. Workers have already begun processing ballots,” Thompson wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

A generalist in subject matter, he specializes in editorial applications of machine learning, natural language processing and other computational methods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

Rather than processing pain solely as a physical warning signal, the brain may also link it to personal memories, expectations, and emotional experiences.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

The impacts have been most dramatic in refining, where the profit margins for processing crude oil into gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products have exploded in recent months.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

The laundry room was both one of the wars obscure crannies and a microcosm of the war itself, a sophisticated, efficient machine capable of processing eighteen thousand bundles of laundry each week.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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Related Words

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

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