improve on

verb

variants or improve upon

improved on or improved upon; improving on or improving upon; improves on or improves upon

transitive verb

: to do better than

It's hard to improve on last year's record.

Examples of improve on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Koch devised a method for growing bacteria in a shallow glass dish; Julius Petri improved on it by adding a snug lid. — Jason Liebowitz, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026

As Florida State looks to improve on last season’s 5-7 record, here are five burning questions, and answers, as the Seminoles head into 2026. — Bob Ferrante, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026

But the team will need to improve on the bigger tracks in the Chase. — ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026

Sure, Young should make some adjustments and improve on his performance. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1618, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for improve on

• agamemnon
• automaton
• diencephalon
• panopticon
• phenomenon
• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon