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:
While investors were hopeful about progress overseas during the weekend, Monday’s developments only highlighted the current geopolitical volatility, Corpina said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Ahead of the Yerevan summit, Schomaker's secretariat is finalising a global scorecard on progress toward the 2030 goals.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
The European Union will cap hybrid-vehicle imports from China at 350,000 units annually, a senior EU official said after both regions made progress in trade talks earlier this month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
"Unfortunately the medium didn't perform as well as the soft. I had a good second stint and the pace was back, but I couldn't make the progress I needed."
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
None of this progress to come will do Phineas a bit of good back in 1848.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
If steps aren’t taken immediately, she said, the damage would likely be far worse as winter progresses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 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
As the film progresses, Herzog intimately considers humanity’s relationship to the insurmountable.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Sometimes, in the darkness, Werner thinks the cellar may have its own faint light, perhaps emanating from the rubble, the space going a bit redder as the August day above them progresses toward dusk.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
How has the company progressed in that time?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
A single levy for developers would be implemented in place of section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy, which fund projects in the community when building plans are progressed.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Los Angeles County Fire Department Incident Command “was unaware that the fire had progressed through west Altadena until the daylight hours on January 8, 2025,” the report read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 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
Things have also progressed outside the walls of Carville.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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
People with higher inflammation tended to have thicker heart walls, smaller heart chambers and poorer heart filling - all changes which may develop quietly for years before progressing to heart failure.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
"The final preparations are all on track and progressing smoothly ahead of what promises to be the most spectacular Asian Games held for generations," their statement read.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Shostakovich edged back from his previous gloom and dissonance, composing a more 'traditional’-style symphony of four contrasting movements, progressing in them from grim, layered anxiety in the first to a triumphant conclusion in the fourth.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
