progress
Americannoun
-
progress
plural
-
a movement toward a goal or to a further or higher stage.
the progress of a student toward a degree.
- Synonyms:
- progression, advance
- Antonyms:
- regression
-
developmental activity in science, technology, etc., especially with reference to the commercial opportunities created thereby or to the promotion of the material well-being of the public through the goods, techniques, or facilities created.
-
advancement in general.
-
growth or development; continuous improvement.
He shows progress in his muscular coordination.
- Synonyms:
- betterment, increase
-
the development of an individual or society in a direction considered more beneficial than and superior to the previous level.
-
Biology. increasing differentiation and perfection in the course of ontogeny or phylogeny.
-
forward or onward movement.
the progress of the planets.
-
the forward course of action, events, time, etc.
-
an official journey or tour, as by a sovereign or dignitary.
verb (used without object)
-
progresses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
progressed,
past participle, past
-
progressing
present participle
-
to go forward or onward in space or time.
The wagon train progressed through the valley. As the play progressed, the leading man grew more inaudible.
-
to grow or develop, as in complexity, scope, or severity; advance.
Are you progressing in your piano studies? The disease progressed slowly.
- Antonyms:
- regress
idioms
noun
-
movement forwards, esp towards a place or objective
-
satisfactory development, growth, or advance
she is making progress in maths
-
advance towards completion, maturity, or perfection
the steady onward march of progress
-
(modifier) of or relating to progress
a progress report
-
biology increasing complexity, adaptation, etc, during the development of an individual or evolution of a group
-
a stately royal journey
-
taking place; under way
verb
-
(intr) to move forwards or onwards, as towards a place or objective
-
to move towards or bring nearer to completion, maturity, or perfection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
progresssimple
-
progressessimple
-
have progressedperfect
-
has progressedperfect
-
am progressingprogressive
-
are progressingprogressive
-
is progressingprogressive
-
have been progressingperfect progressive
-
has been progressingperfect progressive
Past
-
progressedsimple
-
had progressedperfect
-
was progressingprogressive
-
were progressingprogressive
-
had been progressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of progress
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English progresse (noun), from Latin prōgressus “a going forward,” equivalent to prōgred-, stem of prōgredī “to advance” ( prō- “advancing, projecting forward” + -gredī, combining form of gradī “to step”; see pro- 1, grade) + -tus suffix of verb action
Explanation
The process of advancement and the way things move in the positive direction of improvement is called progress. If you got a B on your last test and a B+ on this one, that's progress. If you're moving toward a goal, you're making progress too. On a long trip, it feels like you're barely making progress, but every hour you've driven another 60 miles towards your destination. Or, the news reported recent progress in peace talks between the two feuding nations. Have you ever heard someone say that you can't stop progress? That means that things keep advancing and getting more complicated. Place the accent on the second syllable if you use it as a verb. Let's progress to the next stage.
Vocabulary lists containing progress
UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #1
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"The Fun They Had"
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Business, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
American major Chevron is in talks to progress the Aphrodite gas project offshore Cyprus, which it co-owns with Israel’s NewMed Energy and Britain’s Shell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
He credited the experience and dedication of the Wave Neuroscience team with helping make that accelerated progress possible.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
India's foreign ministry also said both sides welcomed progress in trade negotiations and reaffirmed their commitment to concluding a deal, which has long been in the works.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
And last week, Seoul's ambassador to Washington, Kang Kyung-wha, said no concrete progress had been made toward a meeting between Kim and Trump.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Each boy in the Hitler Youth had a Party Record Book, in which his performance and progress were recorded throughout his years in the Hitler Youth.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The 3v3 format only lasts for 12 months, so goalkeepers do return from under-8 level when the game progresses to 5v5.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
“It begins as fight choreography but as it progresses, it starts to get more expressionistic,” says Jeff Kuperman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
In fact, the pay bumps to move within the industry have been growing larger as the year progresses, she said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Researchers have known for years that blood vessels in the brain deteriorate as Alzheimer's progresses, especially in people who carry APOE4.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
The voting strategy changes as the game progresses.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
The general losses in New York filtered through to Asia in the morning but some markets staged a comeback as the day progressed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
The company has faced questions about the rollout of Tesla's robotaxi venture that has progressed much more slowly than hoped.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
As healing progressed, the difference between males and females gradually became smaller.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
But after his wife read a magazine article about advances in prosthetics, describing how they had progressed from basic skin grafts to realistic artificial ears, Gilbert went to his GP.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The third day Liyana was sick, she watched the sun crawl through her room as the hours progressed.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
I know that oftentimes, the logistics of getting engaged and married can take away from the joy of progressing in a partnership.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
Investors have been eager to hear how the carrier is progressing on its turnaround.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
The recovery in Middle Eastern production appears to be progressing smoothly, according to market watchers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
These subtypes are associated with a greater likelihood of progressing to advanced liver damage, even in people who do not have the metabolic risk factors typically linked to fatty liver disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
When they arrived in the corridor they saw that there were only a dozen people progressing to N.E.W.T. level.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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