procession

American  

[pruh-sesh-uhn] / prəˈsɛʃ ən /

noun

• processions
  plural

1. the act of moving along or proceeding in orderly succession or in a formal and ceremonious manner, as a line of people, animals, vehicles, etc.

2. the line or body of persons or things moving along in such a manner.

3. Ecclesiastical. an office, litany, etc., said or sung in a religious procession.

4. Theology. the emanation of the Holy Spirit from the Father and later, in the Western Church, from the Son: distinguished from the “generation” of the Son and the “unbegottenness” of the Father.

5. the act of coming forth from a source.

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verb (used without object)

1. to go in procession.

procession British  

/ prəˈsɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of proceeding in a regular formation

2. a group of people or things moving forwards in an orderly, regular, or ceremonial manner

3. a hymn, litany, etc, sung in a procession

4. Christianity the emanation of the Holy Spirit

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verb

1. rare (intr) to go in procession

Usage

What does procession mean? A procession is a line of people or vehicles moving along in an orderly and often ceremonial way. A very common example is a funeral procession, which is the line of cars or people traveling together to a burial. A parade is another kind of procession. Procession is the noun form of the verb process, meaning to proceed in or as if in a procession. Example: The procession was so long that they had to block traffic so it could stay together.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• processions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of procession

before 1150; early Middle English (< Old French ) < Late Latin prōcessiōn- (stem of prōcessiō ) a religious procession, literally, a marching on. See process, -ion

Explanation

A procession of mimes walking through the streets of your town would be surprising and somewhat terrifying. A line or group of people moving together in a deliberate way is a procession. You're most likely to see a procession during some kind of ceremony, parade, or festival. A line of cars moving together to a cemetery is a funeral procession, and a bunch of parents pushing babies in strollers in a parade are also a procession. Another meaning of procession is any line or succession of people moving continuously, like a procession of local politicians knocking on your door one afternoon. The root of procession is the Latin processio, "marching forward."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

procession processions

Thousands blocked the procession on September 27, halting the first parade which had been allowed along the route in almost three decades.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

That’s likely because Asco’s early performances, as the art historian and curator C. Ondine Chavoya points out in the film, emphasized procession, mobility, mobilization and occupation, marking sites of political violence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

To others, though, “marketing engineer” is just the latest in the industry’s procession of faddish titles, this time enlisting AI to suggest a level of precision and control that marketers aren’t always credited for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Earl Spencer claims in a new book the then-Prince of Wales said "we'll forget her soon enough" during an argument over whether Princes William and Harry should walk in Diana's funeral procession.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

She wanted the grand procession to take place on March 3, 1913, the day before the inaugural parade for the twenty-eighth president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

“You’d have tens of thousands of people and sheikhs in the streets, all roads closed to cars, processions all over the city, food being served. That’s why they called it ‘The City of Hussein.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Elaborate costumes, blaring music and vibrant processions took over Nigeria's Lagos Island on Monday as the annual Fanti Carnival hit the streets.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026

Instead he took to wearing colorful robes while making grand processions to Friday prayers and giving interviews to the foreign press.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026

Pyongyang has used previous processions to show off its newest and most potent weapons, a rare source of insight into the strength of its armed forces.

From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026

Here were gathered animals that had been brought from all corners of the Roman Empire, and even beyond, to take part in Caesar’s games and processions.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks

Related Words

• cortege
• motorcade
• succession