progress

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Movement toward a goal or a better state.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

prahgress

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noun: progressverb: pruhgress

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈprɑːɡrɛs

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

Movement or advancement through a series of events, or points in time; development through time.
Movement onwards, forwards, or towards a specific objective or direction; advance.
“He listened for the progress of the troops.”
Specifically, advancement to a higher or more developed state; development, growth.
The act of moving forward (as toward a goal)
An official journey made by a monarch or other high personage; a state journey, a circuit.
Any of a series of Soviet, later Russian spacecraft.

verb

Move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
intransitive
To move, go, or proceed forward; to advance.
Develop in a positive way
by extension
To improve; to become better or more complete.
transitive
To expedite.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A2 · Elementary
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Movement or advancement through a series of events, or points in time; development through time.

Used this way, progress is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use progress

“He listened for the progress of the troops.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

progress reportsocial progresseconomic progressrapid progresstechnical progresstechnological progresssome progresshuman progress

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

progress toverbCompound term
Reach a goal.
progress reportnounCompound term
A report of work accomplished during a specified time period.
pilgrim's progressnounCompound term
An allegory written by John Bunyan in 1678.
work in progressnounCompound term
A piece of work that is not yet finished.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

progressiveadjectiveRelated term
Favoring or promoting progress.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: move forward or also in the metaphorical sense

advanceget oncome on

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.