improve on
verb
variants
or improve upon
improved on or improved upon; improving on or improving upon; improves on or improves upon
: 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
In his application for the player-development position in 2019, Mays wrote that he was motivated by helping players improve on and off the court, according to school records obtained by ESPN.
—
Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Even without suiting up for spring practice, there is still a great buzz and expectation that Manning will improve on his 26 touchdown passes and 3,163 yards.
—Zoe Collins Rath, Austin American Statesman, 7 Mar. 2026
At the time, Liu had already won a World bronze medal; few skaters can improve on that.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 6 Mar. 2026
To improve on those first efforts, jawscritters made a series of structural adjustments.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2026
His negative play rate — something that tends to be difficult to improve on in the pros — is a red flag.
—Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
LeBron James agreed with his coach’s assessment of the defense when asked if the Lakers are improving on that end of the court.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 4 Mar. 2026
To improve on the return on their investment, Quilici said scammers are now targeting more narrowly and more frequently.
—Megan De Mar, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Luke Mittelstadt also had two assists for Minnesota (11-19-2 overall, 7-13-1 Big Ten), which leapt over Ohio State for fifth-place in the conference standings, while circuit-leading Michigan (25-7-1, 16-6-1) could not improve on its one-point lead on Michigan State for first place.
—Staff Report, Twin Cities, 26 Feb. 2026
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Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Even without suiting up for spring practice, there is still a great buzz and expectation that Manning will improve on his 26 touchdown passes and 3,163 yards.
—Zoe Collins Rath, Austin American Statesman, 7 Mar. 2026
At the time, Liu had already won a World bronze medal; few skaters can improve on that.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 6 Mar. 2026
To improve on those first efforts, jawscritters made a series of structural adjustments.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2026
His negative play rate — something that tends to be difficult to improve on in the pros — is a red flag.
—Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
LeBron James agreed with his coach’s assessment of the defense when asked if the Lakers are improving on that end of the court.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 4 Mar. 2026
To improve on the return on their investment, Quilici said scammers are now targeting more narrowly and more frequently.
—Megan De Mar, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Luke Mittelstadt also had two assists for Minnesota (11-19-2 overall, 7-13-1 Big Ten), which leapt over Ohio State for fifth-place in the conference standings, while circuit-leading Michigan (25-7-1, 16-6-1) could not improve on its one-point lead on Michigan State for first place.
—Staff Report, Twin Cities, 26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Improve on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/improve%20on. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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