advance
Americanverb (used with object)
-
advances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
advanced,
past participle, past
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advancing
present participle
-
to move or bring forward.
The general advanced his troops to the new position.
- Antonyms:
- withdraw
-
to bring into consideration or notice; suggest; propose.
to advance reasons for a tax cut.
- Antonyms:
- withdraw
-
to improve; further.
to advance one's interests.
-
to raise in rank; promote.
The board of directors advanced him to president.
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to raise in rate or amount; increase.
to advance the price.
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to bring forward in time; accelerate.
to advance growth;
to advance clocks one hour.
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to supply beforehand; furnish on credit or before goods are delivered or work is done.
-
to furnish as part of a stock or fund.
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to supply or pay in expectation of reimbursement.
They advanced her $5000 against future royalties.
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to schedule at a later time or date.
to advance a meeting from early to late fall.
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Informal. to do advance publicity for.
to advance a rock singer's personal appearances;
the most heavily advanced sports event in history.
-
Archaic. to raise, as a banner.
verb (used without object)
-
advances,
present (3rd person singular)
-
advanced,
past participle, past
-
advancing
present participle
-
to move or go forward; proceed.
The troops advanced.
- Antonyms:
- retreat
-
to increase in quantity, value, price, etc..
His stock advanced three points.
-
(of a color, form, etc., on a flat surface) to move toward or be perceived as moving toward an observer, especially as giving the illusion of space.
-
to improve or make progress.
-
to grow or rise in importance, status, etc..
to advance in rank.
- Antonyms:
- decrease
-
Informal. to provide publicity; do promotion.
He was hired to advance for a best-selling author.
noun
-
advances
plural
-
a forward movement; progress in space.
the advance of the troops to the border.
-
promotion; improvement in importance, rank, etc..
his advance to the position of treasurer.
- Synonyms:
- advancement, growth
-
Usually advances.
-
attempts at forming an acquaintanceship, reaching an agreement, or the like, made by one party.
-
actions or words intended to be sexually inviting.
-
-
addition to price; rise in price.
an advance on cottons.
-
Commerce.
-
a giving beforehand; a furnishing of something before an equivalent is received.
An advance on his next month's salary permitted him to pay his debt on time.
-
the money or goods thus furnished.
He received $100 as an advance against future delivery.
-
-
Journalism.
-
copy prepared before the event it describes has occurred.
The morning papers carried advances on the ceremony, which will take place tonight.
-
a press release, wire-service dispatch, or the like, as one containing the text or partial text of a speech, sent to arrive in advance of the event to which it is related.
-
-
the leading body of an army.
- Synonyms:
- spearhead, van, vanguard, advance guard
-
Military. (formerly) the order or a signal to advance.
-
Informal.
-
publicity done before the appearance of a noted person, a public event, etc..
She was hired to do advance for the candidate.
-
a person hired to do advance publicity for an event.
He is regarded as the best advance in the business.
-
-
Automotive, Machinery. an adjustment made in the setting of the distributor of an internal-combustion engine to generate the spark for ignition in each cylinder earlier in the cycle.
-
Geology. a seaward movement of the shoreline.
adjective
-
going or placed before.
an advance section of a train.
-
made or given ahead of time.
an advance payment on a loan.
-
issued ahead of time.
an advance copy of the president's speech.
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having gone beyond others or beyond the average.
idioms
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in advance of, in front of; before.
Heralds walked in advance of the king.
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in advance, ahead of time; beforehand.
You must get your tickets in advance.
verb
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to go or bring forward in position
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(foll by on) to move (towards) in a threatening manner
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(tr) to present for consideration; suggest
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to bring or be brought to a further stage of development; improve; further
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(tr) to cause (an event) to occur earlier
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(tr) to supply (money, goods, etc) beforehand, either for a loan or as an initial payment
-
to increase (a price, value, rate of occurrence, etc) or (of a price, etc) to be increased
-
(intr) to improve one's position; be promoted
he advanced rapidly in his job
-
archaic (tr) to promote in rank, status, or position
noun
-
forward movement; progress in time or space
-
improvement; progress in development
-
commerce
-
the supplying of commodities or funds before receipt of an agreed consideration
-
the commodities or funds supplied in this manner
-
( as modifier )
an advance supply
-
-
Also called: advance payment. a money payment made before it is legally due
this is an advance on your salary
-
a loan of money
-
an increase in price, value, rate of occurrence, etc
-
a less common word for advancement
-
-
beforehand
payment in advance
-
(foll by of) ahead in time or development
ideas in advance of the time
-
-
(modifier) forward in position or time
advance booking
an advance warning
Synonym Usage
Advance, move on, proceed all imply movement forward. Advance applies to forward movement, especially toward an objective: to advance to a platform. Proceed emphasizes movement, as from one place to another, and often implies continuing after a halt: to proceed on one's journey. Move on is similar in meaning to proceed; it does not, however, imply a definite goal: The crowd was told to move on.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
advancesimple
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advancessimple
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have advancedperfect
-
has advancedperfect
-
am advancingprogressive
-
are advancingprogressive
-
is advancingprogressive
-
have been advancingperfect progressive
-
has been advancingperfect progressive
Past
-
advancedsimple
-
had advancedperfect
-
was advancingprogressive
-
were advancingprogressive
-
had been advancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of advance
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English avauncen, from Anglo-French, Old French avanc(i)er, from Vulgar Latin abantiāre (unrecorded), verb derived from Late Latin abante “in front (of ),” from Latin ab “away from, off” + ante “before”; ad- by mistaking a- for a- 5 in the 16th century
Explanation
The experience of having a wild monkey advance on you is pretty scary. The verb advance means "move forward purposefully." When you move forward, you advance. You can advance a chess piece on a board, advance toward someone across a room, or observe an army as it advances into a country. Advance also means "make progress," as when you advance your knowledge of Spanish by traveling to Ecuador, or "to loan money," which a bank does by making an advance of a thousand dollars. Since the 1700s, to make advances has also meant to make romantic overtures or to flirt.
Vocabulary lists containing advance
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 2
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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:
Stripping out gasoline, the consumer price index rose 2.4% in August, speeding up slightly from July’s 2.2% advance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The Senate will vote Tuesday on whether to advance the bill.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
"All parties should work together to advance AI in a manner that is open, inclusive, beneficial to all, and oriented toward the good," he added.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Usually the next wave would advance from “new company” through “middle ground,” Kurzweil said, but the middle tier in venture has vanished so that path increasingly looks like a failure mode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
“It is a pity there is no way to tell in advance how much optimism is the correct amount,” she thought as she pinned her dull, drab locks into a dull, drab bun.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
The Houthi advances bring greater pressure on global energy supplies that have already been pressured by months of conflict in the region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
A turbulent start is brewing for stock markets, with technology set to drive a lower open after leaders of big artificial-intelligence companies said advances in AI should be slowed because of safety concerns.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
However, the AI race and China's advances in the field create "the toughest dilemma" regarding whether or not to slow down AI development, he noted on CBS on Sunday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
Among its advances is a structure known as a phononic cavity, which traps mechanical vibrations so they can interact more strongly with the electron spin inside a qubit.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
The technological advances defined by laws of Moore and Metcalfe got married and long since overtook what our brains can handle.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Software stocks more broadly advanced on hopes a slower AI would lead to less disruption.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
AI now sits at the heart of the US-China rivalry as the world's two largest economies seek to gain an edge in advanced tech.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
"I call on states and companies to mobilise urgently through multilateral fora to chart a path for action to govern advanced, frontier Al models, grounded in international human rights law."
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Misunderstandings introduced early in a student's education can follow them into more advanced chemistry and eventually into scientific research.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
From the trees behind the tsar, armored guards advanced toward Anya.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, the leaders of three of the most prominent American artificial-intelligence companies, now say they think the technology is advancing too quickly.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
No, we aren’t doomed, but the models are advancing more quickly than our understanding of them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Based on the early-stage findings, Sylvester is now advancing a neoadjuvant clinical trial that will combine IL1RAP targeted treatment with chemoimmunotherapy in patients with operable pancreatic cancers prior to surgery.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
The Yemeni military source said they were advancing towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait "after having taken control of Mokha".
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
But instead, he held up his hands, as if to stop an advancing car.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
