advance

verb ad·vance \ əd-ˈvan(t)s \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

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Examples: advance in a Sentence

Definition of advance

advanced; advancing

transitive verb

1 : to accelerate the growth or progress of

advance a cause

2 : to bring or move forward

advance a pawn

3 : to raise to a higher rank

was advanced from clerk to assistant manager

4 archaic : to lift up : raise

5 : to bring forward in time; especially : to make earlier

advance the date of the meeting

6 : to bring forward for notice, consideration, or acceptance : propose

advance an idea

7 : to supply or furnish in expectation of repayment

advance a loan

8 : to raise in rate : increase

advance the rent

intransitive verb

1 : to move forward : proceed

an advancing army

2 : to make progress : increase

advance in age

3 : to rise in rank, position, or importance

advance through the ranks

4 : to rise in rate or price

advancing wages

—

advancer

noun

See advance defined for English-language learners

See advance defined for kids

Examples of advance in a Sentence

The car advanced slowly down the street.
The sun slowly advanced across the sky.
She opened the door and advanced cautiously into the room.
advance the hands of a clock
The film is advanced by an electric motor.
The team advanced the ball steadily down the field.
Our understanding of this disease has advanced rapidly in recent years.
The team did not advance beyond the first round of the play-offs.
The company tries to keep up with advancing technology.
As he advanced in age and stature he advanced in knowledge.

Recent Examples of advance from the Web

Teams from all over the country answered questions similar to those on standardized tests such as the SAT/ACT, questions regarding JROTC as well as questions regarding current events, with the highest scoring teams advancing to the next round.

— staff report, Daily Southtown, "Community news: Lincoln-Way cadets take 3rd at national academic bowl," 12 July 2018
Ivan Perisic tied the score in the 68th minute, Mario Mandzukic got the go-ahead goal in the 109th, and Croatia shocked England with a 2-1 victory Wednesday that advanced a nation of just over 4 million to a World Cup final against France.

— ronald blum, The Christian Science Monitor, "Croatia will make its first-ever appearance in World Cup final," 12 July 2018
If elevated, the judge would pose an existential threat to the government’s ability to regulate for the common good and further twist the First Amendment beyond recognition, using it as a sword to advance his personal political preferences.

— sam dangremond, Town & Country, "Yale Law Students and Alumni Denounce School's Support of Brett Kavanaugh," 11 July 2018
On Saturday, England beat Sweden 2-0 to advance to its first World Cup semifinal in 28 years.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "England’s Unfamiliar Emotion: Hope," 10 July 2018
General use of the courts to advance a conservative agenda.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "If Democrats want to fight Brett Kavanaugh, they have a lot of ammunition.," 10 July 2018
After advancing to the fourth round at Wimbledon, the tennis pro sat for a press conference.

— refinery29.com, "Serena Williams Is The Best At Literally Everything & She Knows It," 8 July 2018
The eight winners will advance to the Nov. 6 general election and challenge each other for one of the four open seats.

— jess nocera, Howard County Times, "Eight school board candidates won the primary, next up is the general election," 27 June 2018
Republican leaders gave their blessing late Tuesday to an effort to advance the resolution, which was a slightly different version of a measure approved earlier Tuesday along party lines by the House Judiciary Committee.

— billy house, Bloomberg.com, "Rosenstein Faces Vote in U.S. House on GOP Demands for Documents," 26 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'advance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of advance

Middle English advauncen, alteration (with initial a- taken as assimilated form of Latin ad- ad-) of avauncen, borrowed from Anglo-French avancer, going back to Vulgar Latin *abantiāre, verbal derivative of Latin abante "before, in front," from ab- ab- + ante "before" — more at ante-

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1538

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

advance Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of advance

advance, promote, forward, further mean to help (someone or something) to move ahead. advance stresses effective assisting in hastening a process or bringing about a desired end.

- advance the cause of peace

promote suggests an encouraging or fostering and may denote an increase in status or rank.

- a campaign to promote better health

forward implies an impetus forcing something ahead.

- a wage increase would forward productivity

further suggests a removing of obstacles in the way of a desired advance.

- used the marriage to further his career

advance

noun

Definition of advance

1 : a moving forward

halted the enemy's advances

2 a : progress in development

… mistaking material advance for spiritual enrichment.
—H. J. Laski

b : a progressive step : improvement

an advance in medical technique

3 : a rise in price, value, or amount

The workers won wage advances.

4 : a first step or approach made

Her attitude discouraged all advances.

5 : a provision of something (such as money or goods) before a return is received

I need an advance on my salary.

; also : the money or goods supplied

received a $100,000 advance on his new book

— in advance

1 : to, toward, or in a place or position ahead

sent scouts out in advance

2 : before a deadline or an anticipated event

made reservations in advance

— in advance of

: ahead of

made preparations several days in advance of her arrival

See advance defined for English-language learners

Examples of advance in a Sentence

trying to halt the enemy's advance
trying to halt the enemy's advances
a big advance in technology
The new system represents a considerable advance over the old one.
There have been few advances made in the treatment of this disease.
There has been little advance made in the treatment of this disease.
The workers won wage advances.
a yearlong advance in stock prices

Recent Examples of advance from the Web

Croatia conceded the opening goal in each game before rallying to advance.

— graham dunbar, courant.com, "A Youthful France Faces Veteran-Laden Croatia For World Cup," 14 July 2018
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.2% Friday, led by advances among technology and real-estate companies.

— akane otani, WSJ, "U.S. Stocks Rise, Post Weekly Gains," 13 July 2018
Musicians can apply for grants from government agencies like the Australia Council for the Arts, helping them to fund tours and international opportunities without the pressure of labels and publishing advances.

— Billboard, "The Down Underdogs: Australian Alternative Artists on Making it Big in America and at Home," 13 July 2018
Although there were advance calls in Britain from some quarters to cancel the meeting between the queen and the Trumps, that was never going to happen.

— gregory korte, USA TODAY, "Trumps meet Queen Elizabeth II, treated to royal pomp, pageantry and tea," 13 July 2018
Thayer said no taxpayer money was spent on the trips, which were approved in advance by Senate President Robert Stivers and met all legal requirements of the legislature's ethics commission.

— tom loftus, The Courier-Journal, "A GOP group influential in Kentucky is funded by tobacco and casinos," 13 July 2018
Carolyn Donham, one of the men’s wives, had claimed that Till whistled at her outside of a store, and then proceeded to make crude verbal and physical advances towards her.

— kaila philo, The New Republic, "The Emmett Till case has been reopened.," 12 July 2018
The fact that all eight of the scheduled opening performers qualify as cult acts with relatively small followings may have served to dampen advance ticket sales.

— george varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, "91X cancels X-Fest 2018, which was to have been headlined by Beck and Death Cab for Cutie," 12 July 2018
In reality, the job losses in industries like logging and mining that have devastated many rural communities are due to macroeconomic forces like depleted resources, globalization, and technological advances.

— peter s. alagona, Outside Online, "The Endangered Species Act Needs a Reboot," 9 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of advance

derivative of ¹advance (or borrowed from French avance, going back to Middle French, noun derivative of avancer)

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1570

in the meaning defined at sense 3

See Words from the same year

advance Synonyms

Synonyms

advancement, breakthrough, enhancement, improvement, refinement;

Antonyms

setback;

Near Antonyms

breakdown, collapse, crash;

hindrance, impediment, stumbling block;

decadence, decay, decline, decrease, degeneration, descent, deterioration, diminishment, downgrade, ebbing, failing, flagging, languishment, lapse, lessening, reduction, sinking, slowing, weakening, worsening;

detriment, disablement, drawback, glitch, impairment, shortcoming;

Related Words

quantum leap;

amelioration, boost, heightening, increase, melioration, strengthening, upgrade, uplift, upswing, uptrend, upturn;

betterment, development, elaboration, evolution, expansion, gestation, growth, maturation, perfection, ripening;

civilization, edification, education, enlightenment;

renaissance, renascence, revival;

innovation, invention;

advance

adjective

Definition of advance

1 : made, sent, or furnished ahead of time

advance sales

2 : going or situated before

an advance party of soldiers

See advance defined for English-language learners

Examples of advance in a Sentence

an advance copy of a new book

Recent Examples of advance from the Web

The measure would close a loophole that drug traffickers exploit: While private shippers like FedEx and UPS are required to obtain advance electronic information on most shipments, the Postal Service is not.

— matthew garcia, Washington Post, "What A U.S.-China Trade War Could Mean For The Opioid Epidemic," 9 July 2018
The measure would close a loophole that drug traffickers exploit: While private shippers like FedEx and UPS are required to obtain advance electronic information on most shipments, the Postal Service is not.

— matthew garcia, USA TODAY, "What a U.S.-China trade war could mean for opioid epidemic," 6 July 2018
Beyond offering customers more advance e-commerce options, Walmart has in recent years given store workers raises in an effort to improve what had been weaker customer service scores and remodeled many stores.

— phil wahba, Fortune, "Walmart Adds Chief Customer Officer Role to Further Integrate Stores and E-Commerce," 3 July 2018
While any increase means higher premiums for consumers who do not qualify for government subsidies, known as advance premium tax credits, the vast majority of Obamacare consumers who do qualify will see a much smaller increase.

— ron hurtibise, Sun-Sentinel.com, "South Florida's 3 Obamacare providers file proposals to return in 2019," 22 June 2018
But any such flight would require advance warning, enough to launch spacecraft on missions laster longer than a year to reach the target far enough out to deflect it from Earth.

— william harwood, CBS News, "NASA asteroid-watchers team up on emergency plan with White House, FEMA," 20 June 2018
The California law, which began to take effect this year, requires drugmakers to give insurers, governments and drug purchasers advance notice of large price increases as a way of publicly pressuring pharmaceutical companies to keep prices down.

— robert langreth, latimes.com, "Drugmakers cancel some price increases after California law takes effect," 10 July 2018
Medicaid rules require advance notice of changes in benefits and a period for public comment, Regan said.

— deborah yetter, The Courier-Journal, "Kids wrongly denied care under Bevin's Medicaid cuts, dentists say," 3 July 2018
The law requires drug makers to give insurers, governments, and purchasers advance notice of large price hikes.

— ed silverman, STAT, "Pharmalittle: California transparency law stalls some price hikes; Pfizer reorganizes operations, again," 11 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of advance

derivative of ²advance

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1701

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

ADVANCE Defined for English Language Learners

advance

verb

Definition of advance for English Language Learners

: to move forward
: to move (someone or something) forward
: to go forward : to make progress : to continue in a process of development, aging, etc.

advance

noun

Definition of advance for English Language Learners

: forward movement
: progress in the development or improvement of something
: a rise in price, value, or amount

advance

adjective

Definition of advance for English Language Learners

: made, sent, or provided at an early time
: going or placed before others

ADVANCE Defined for Kids

advance

verb ad·vance \ əd-ˈvans \

Definition of advance for Students

advanced; advancing

1 : to move forward

Advance your piece five spaces on your next turn.

2 : to help the progress of

Laws were passed that advance freedom.

3 : to raise to a higher rank : promote

She was advanced from teller to assistant bank manager.

4 : to give ahead of time

My boss advanced me 100 dollars from my wages.

5 : propose 1

The candidate advanced a new plan.

advance

noun

Definition of advance for Students

1 : a forward movement

Troops tried to halt the enemy's advance.

2 : progress in development : improvement

advances in medicine

3 : a rise in price, value, or amount

4 : a first step or approach

friendly advances

5 : money given ahead of the usual time

I asked for an advance on my salary.

— in advance

: before an expected event

You knew a week in advance about the test.

Law Dictionary

advance

transitive verb ad·vance

legal Definition of advance

advanced; advancing

: to supply or provide ahead of time: as

a : to give (a gift) by way of or as an advancement

b : to supply (as money) beforehand in expectation of repayment or other future adjustment

advance

noun

legal Definition of advance

: a provision of something (as goods or money) before a return is received; also : the money or goods supplied

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advance

Definition of advance

advancer

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advance

Definition of advance

Examples of advance in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of advance

advance Synonyms

Synonyms

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Related Words

advance

Definition of advance

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ADVANCE Defined for English Language Learners

advance

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advance

Definition of advance for English Language Learners

advance

Definition of advance for English Language Learners

ADVANCE Defined for Kids

advance

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advance

Definition of advance for Students

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advance

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advance

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