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:
However, previous research has often paid less attention to how different immune cell populations change over time as diabetic wounds progress through different stages of healing.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Chelsea remain a work in progress and conceded again through poor set-piece defending for Evanilson's goal.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
"We believe that following this roadmap, with the support of the United States, will undoubtedly lead our country to progress," she stated.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
It is one of 16 points outlined where they had sought to make progress, including on market access for medical devices and export controls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
He tried to listen to their progress, but it was hard to hear anything above the din of the machines.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
“That doesn’t match up with people’s actual spending patterns,” he said, since people typically have variable needs and wants as retirement progresses.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
As the film progresses, Herzog intimately considers humanity’s relationship to the insurmountable.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
The fuels market has become considerably tighter as the war progresses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The team also explored whether oxalate-related genes might provide clues about how Crohn's disease progresses.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Reader, do you recall the word “perfidy”? As our story progresses, “perfidy” becomes an ever more appropriate word, doesn’t it?
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
How has the company progressed in that time?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
After it progressed to an unbearable point, we moved Tony into assisted living.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
As reionization progressed, ultraviolet light was able to travel more freely through space, helping bring the universe's cosmic "dark ages" to an end.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
He progressed through the ranks playing for Bousports Academy in the town of Thiadiaye before joining Amitie Football Club in the city of Thies.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Treebaun progressed quickly through each student’s recap and repercussion track, and I watched a botched Kennedy assassination simulation, a Watergate mess, and a rather iffy situation involving Ben Franklin, but none of them were Elliot’s.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Common treatments, including over-the-counter medications and steroid injections, may reduce symptoms for a time, but they do not prevent the underlying joint damage from progressing.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
AI companies expressed support for slowing the development of their cutting-edge models earlier this month, citing worries that it’s progressing at a rate faster than what humans can safely control.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Earlier this year, the EU inked a landmark agreement with India and has progressing trade agreement negotiations in various phases with Malaysia and Thailand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
World number two Luke Humphries also emerged victorious in another England versus Netherlands encounter, progressing 6-4 against Jermaine Wattimena.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
