progression

[pruh-gresh-uhn]

noun

1. the act of progressing; forward or onward movement.

2. a passing successively from one member of a series to the next; succession; sequence.

3. Mathematics.,  a succession of quantities in which there is a constant relation between each member and the one succeeding it.

4. Music.,  the manner in which chords or melodic tones follow one another; a succession of chords or tones.

5. Astrology.,  any of a variety of methods of comparing the natal chart to subsequent planetary positions in order to establish an optimum time to accomplish things or to establish the probable time an event occurred or will occur.

progression

/ prəˈɡrɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of progressing; advancement

2. the act or an instance of moving from one thing or unit in a sequence to the next

3. maths a sequence of numbers in which each term differs from the succeeding term by a constant relation See also arithmetic progression geometric progression harmonic progression

4. music movement, esp of a logical kind, from one note to the next ( melodic progression ) or from one chord to the next ( harmonic progression )

5. astrology one of several calculations, based on the movement of the planets, from which it is supposed that one can find the expected developments in a person's birth chart and the probable trends of circumstances for a year in his life

Other Word Forms

• progressional adjective
• progressionally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of progression¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin prōgressiōn-, stem of prōgressiō “advancement, forward movement”; equivalent to progress + -ion

Example Sentences

I don’t think of it in terms of years, I think of it in terms of progression like, have I moved away from the “Mama’s Gun” messages?

From Los Angeles Times

Ms Wood said Ms Shemirani died from the progression of a disease which was curable but not treated.

From BBC

Streeting said he was not willing to negotiate on pay, but instead resume the previous talks which were focussed on working conditions, including career progression, exam fees and rotas.

From BBC

"We never in our wildest dreams would have expected a 75% slowing of clinical progression," she said.

From BBC

It is a strange space, an orderly progression toward an otherworldly infinity without any horizon.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advancement 
• breakthrough 
• evolution