progress

American  

[prog-res, -ruhs, proh-gres, pruh-gres] / ˈprɒg rɛs, -rəs, ˈproʊ grɛs, prəˈgrɛs /

noun

• progress
  plural

1. 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

2. 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.

3. advancement in general.

4. growth or development; continuous improvement.

   He shows progress in his muscular coordination.

   Synonyms:

   betterment, increase

5. the development of an individual or society in a direction considered more beneficial than and superior to the previous level.

6. Biology. increasing differentiation and perfection in the course of ontogeny or phylogeny.

7. forward or onward movement.

   the progress of the planets.

8. the forward course of action, events, time, etc.

9. an official journey or tour, as by a sovereign or dignitary.

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verb (used without object)

• progresses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• progressed,
  past participle,  past
• progressing
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to grow or develop, as in complexity, scope, or severity; advance.

   Are you progressing in your piano studies? The disease progressed slowly.

   Synonyms:

   increase, grow, improve, develop, proceed

   Antonyms:

   regress

idioms

1. in progress, going on; under way; being done; happening.

   The meeting was already in progress.

progress British  

noun

1. movement forwards, esp towards a place or objective

2. satisfactory development, growth, or advance

   she is making progress in maths

3. advance towards completion, maturity, or perfection

   the steady onward march of progress

4. (modifier) of or relating to progress

   a progress report

5. biology increasing complexity, adaptation, etc, during the development of an individual or evolution of a group

6. a stately royal journey

7. taking place; under way

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verb

1. (intr) to move forwards or onwards, as towards a place or objective

2. to move towards or bring nearer to completion, maturity, or perfection

progress More Idioms  

1. see in progress.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unprogressed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• progress
  plural

Participles

• progressing
  present
• progressed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• progress
  simple
• progresses
  simple
• have progressed
  perfect
• has progressed
  perfect
• am progressing
  progressive
• are progressing
  progressive
• is progressing
  progressive
• have been progressing
  perfect progressive
• has been progressing
  perfect progressive

Past

• progressed
  simple
• had progressed
  perfect
• was progressing
  progressive
• were progressing
  progressive
• had been progressing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will progress
  simple
• will have progressed
  perfect
• will be progressing
  progressive
• will have been progressing
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

progress progresses progressed progressing

It comes after Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan’s interior minister, said that “significant progress was made” with Iran in discussions hoped to help bring the conflict with the U.S. to a close.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Pakistan reported significant progress but mediators said the talks produced no substantive breakthrough and failed to persuade Tehran to restart negotiations with Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

In a separate post Sunday, he shared photos of his younger and current selves and celebrated survival and progress in his caption.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

He added that despite progress towards a pact, "that momentum reversed" in the end, stressing that building domestically and diversifying trade abroad has been "plan A from the start."

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

By noon they’d made little progress, and were still within sight of the snow cave.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

This is not to say that teams will not have solutions to these tactics as the season progresses.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Centennial may have some on-field discipline issues to work out as the season progresses, but with Jefferson, Hale and plenty of other offensive weapons, it could be in for another impressive season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

But as the artificial-intelligence trade progresses, these megacap tech stocks are increasingly diverging in performance.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

U.S. natural gas futures settled lower for a fourth consecutive session as the summer progresses with solid production and inventories weighing against weather-driven demand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

At first he tries to eat all of everything, but as the meal progresses he finds he must forgo some things to keep his appetite and his taste buds functioning.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

European chip stocks fell sharply in early European trade, with losses deepening as the trading day progressed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

"It went from there and progressed into 50 commercials by the time I was five... It just never stopped," she recalled.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

“As the days progressed, the subadult started to perch near Shadow in several of his favored trees,” the nonprofit wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The work eventually progressed toward publication and possible industrial use.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Having crisscrossed the floor, they progressed to the middle terraces, but the results were equally disappointing.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

The companies didn’t provide specific details about how long patients taking the Moderna-Merck combination lived without their cancer progressing or how long they lived on average.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

U.S. officials said those negotiations were progressing and could relieve pressure on the global energy market and higher domestic gas prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The DWP told Panorama "continued modernisation" of the service meant it was "progressing cases more quickly and effectively".

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Japan international Suzuki has been one of Villa's top targets should Martinez leave this summer and the deal, reportedly for around £30m, is progressing.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Keeth’s love for the sport was genuine, and he saw how invested I was in progressing.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Related Words

• advance
• breakthrough
• development
• evolution
• growth
• headway
• improvement
• increase
• momentum
• movement
• pace
• process
• rise
• stride