Meaning of progress in English

progress

noun [ U ]

/ˈprəʊ.ɡres/ us

/ˈprɑː.ɡres/

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movement to an improved or more developed state, or to a forward position:

Technological progress has been so rapid over the last few years.

I'm not making much progress with my Spanish.

The doctor said that she was making good progress (= getting better after a medical operation or illness).

The recent free elections mark the next step in the country's progress towards democracy.

The yacht's crew said that they were making relatively slow progress.

in progress B2 formal

happening or being done now:

Repair work is in progress on the south-bound lane of the motorway and will continue until June.

More examplesFewer examples

We're making slow but steady progress with the decorating.
The doctor will call next week to check on your progress.
Alex is just plodding along at school, making very little progress.
I have to report to my boss on progress every Friday.
We need some sort of graph on which we can chart our progress.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Making progress and advancing

See more results »

Grammar

Progress

Progress is an uncountable noun. We most commonly use it with the verb make: …

progress

verb

/prəˈɡres/ us

/prəˈɡres/

B2 [ I ]

to improve or develop in skills, knowledge, etc.:

My Spanish never really progressed beyond the stage of being able to order drinks at the bar.

Compare

regress (RETURN TO WORSE STATE) formal

C2 [ I ]

to continue gradually:

As the war progressed, more and more countries became involved.

We started off talking about the weather and gradually the conversation progressed to politics.

to move something to a more advanced or developed state:

I decided to do a postgraduate course because it's a good way to progress your career.

I am anxious to progress discussions on the two projects as soon as possible.

[ I ]

to move forward:

As you progress up the valley, views open up.

There were no signs indicating that workers should not progress beyond that point.

More examplesFewer examples

As his illness progressed, he made fewer entries in his diary.
The building project is progressing well.
Unfortunately this is a disease which progresses very rapidly.
Whenever I talk to him we never seem to progress beyond the weather and holidays.
He started as an apprentice but quickly progressed to foreman.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Making progress and advancing

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Continue & last

Advancing and moving forward

(Definition of progress from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

progress | American Dictionary

progress

noun [ U ]

/ˈprɑɡ·rəs, -res/

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movement toward an improved or more developed state, or to a forward position:

The talks failed to make any progress toward a settlement.

in progress

If something is in progress, it is happening or being done now:

The construction work is already in progress.

progress

verb [ I ]

/prəˈɡres/

to move toward an improved or more developed state, or to a forward position:

Construction is progressing well.

As the game progressed I was bouncing in my chair.

progression

noun [ U ] us

/prəˈɡreʃ·ən/

The show examines one woman’s progression from youth to old age.

(Definition of progress from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

progress | Business English

progress

noun [ U ]

/ˈprəʊɡres/ us

/ˈprɒɡres/

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the process of changing or developing towards an improved situation or condition:

The managers were very pleased with the team's progress.

"We're addressing the problem," he said, "and I think we're making progress."

progress on sth We are making progress on improving our core business.

"There is no doubt we are making progress towards the goal," said Ford's CEO.

progress

verb [ I ]

/prəʊˈɡres/ us

/ˈprɒɡres/

to develop or change to an improved situation or condition:

As things progressed in my career, I realized that starting my own company was a possibility.

progress toward(s)/to sth We are progressing toward more significant environmental legislation.

progress beyond sth The online auction company has failed to progress beyond a market share of 30% in Switzerland.

progress rapidly/quickly/steadily She progressed steadily through the ranks to upper management.

Examples of progress

progress

Further reference to tools and players is made as the book progresses.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

This may then progress later into organic lesion.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In line with previous findings, the former group progressed faster in learning to read the visual list while the latter learned the phonetic list faster.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Prereaders progressed faster in learning to read the visual list, whereas novice and veteran readers progressed faster in learning to read the phonetic list.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is this affective and evaluative progress that teachers might try to develop in pupils in order to develop their skills of musical thinking further.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Although there has been enormous progress toward accomplishing parts of the vision, the core problem - the design of ligands to bind proteins - has remained intractable.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Its decline would give a much-needed boost to output and to technical progress.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

For low enough discounting, growing consumption is optimal even when technical progress is zero.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Thus, morphological awareness tended to progress in a clear developmental pattern in relation to spelling of morphemes indicating past tense.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The extent of yield progress varied across the environments.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, there has been recent progress in this field, and such a definition may become possible in the near future.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Nevertheless, the rise in goods prices is less than the case of no technological progress.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

No significant differences were found in the patients' progress when examined by social class.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

As research progresses, and governments change their approach to assessment, areas will change and new directions for research will be signaled.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Designing robots that can respond has proved extremely difficult and progress has been slow.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of progress

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with progress

progress

These are words often used in combination with progress.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

academic progress

Does working in high school impair academic progress?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

accelerated progress

Another important aspect is the use of rapid prototyping for accelerated progress which leads to frequent changes in design and implementation as the project unfolds.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

adequate progress

The skill of following instructions is central to adequate progress in school.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with progress

What is the pronunciation of progress?

Translations of progress

in Chinese (Traditional)

進步，進展, 進步, 改進…

in Chinese (Simplified)

进步，进展, 进步, 改进…

in Spanish

progreso(s), desarrollo, progresar…

in Portuguese

progresso, progredir, avançar…

in more languages

in Marathi

in Japanese

in Turkish

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in Catalan

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in Danish

in Swedish

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in German

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in Urdu

in Ukrainian

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in Italian

प्रगती, प्रगती करणे, कौशल्य…

進歩, 発達, 前進…

ilerleme, gelişme, bir yöne doğru ilerleme/hareket…

progrès [masculine], progression [feminine], progresser…

progrés, desenvolupament, avançament…

voortgang, vooruitgang, vorderen…

மேம்பட்ட அல்லது அதிக வளர்ச்சியடைந்த நிலைக்கு அல்லது முன்னோக்கி நிலைக்கு முன்னேற்றும் இயக்கம், திறன்கள், அறிவு போன்றவற்றில் மேம்படுத்த அல்லது அபிவிருத்தி செய்ய…

तरक्की, प्रगति, सुधार…

પ્રગતિ, સુધારો અથવા વિકાસ (કૌશલ્ય, જ્ઞાન…

fremgang, fremskridt, komme videre…

utveckling, framsteg, färdas…

kemaraan, kemajuan, bergerak…

die Entwicklung, der Fortschritt, fortschreiten…