1
a(1)
: a royal journey marked by pomp and pageant
(2)
: a state procession
b
: a tour or circuit made by an official (such as a judge)
c
: an expedition, journey, or march through a region
2
: a forward or onward movement (as to an objective or to a goal) : advance
3
: gradual betterment
especially
: the progressive development of humankind
progressed; progressing; progresses
1
: to move forward : proceed
2
: to develop to a higher, better, or more advanced stage
Synonyms
Examples of progress in a Sentence
Noun
the rapid progress of the ship
He made slow progress down the steep cliff.
The project showed slow but steady progress.
Verb
The project has been progressing slowly.
The work is progressing and should be completed soon.
The caravan progressed slowly across the desert.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Arizona Republic, 19 Apr. 2024
Specifying national reporting to the INC, when appropriate, and assessing the progress and effectiveness of the agreement.
—Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 19 Apr. 2024
These participants were classified as long COVID patients, and the researchers followed their progress for the next two years.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
The bill extends the timeline for a forced sale of TikTok from six months to nine and gives the president the discretion to extend that timeline another 90 days if there’s progress toward a deal.
—Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 18 Apr. 2024
Roberts expressed hope that HB 1659, or its twin bill in the state Senate, will see progress in the coming weeks.
—Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Some of our most exciting progress over the past couple of years has been in software.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2024
As the week progresses, additional light rain is forecasted for Thursday and on Monday, Kuroski said.
—Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
Red-state legislatures were (and still are) trying to reverse decades of progress for trans freedom.
—Diana Goetsch, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Nguyen's bill hasn't progressed since securing a majority caucus vote Feb. 20.
—The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
As the experiment progressed, Ancel Keys, the nutritionist running the study, noticed odd psychological effects.
—Andrew Chapman, Longreads, 18 Apr. 2024
As their divorce progressed, things became messier as King and Newman battled over finances and custody of their children.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
And progress in taming inflation has flatlined lately, leaving the price of everything from eggs to Uber rides up dramatically from pre-pandemic levels.
—Diane Harris, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that progresses relentlessly.
—Matthew Farrer, Discover Magazine, 13 Apr. 2024
But as the season progressed and Maurice tinkered with his forward lines — sometimes out of necessity due to injuries, sometimes out of curiosity to see what groupings might work — Rodrigues became one of the primary forwards to bounce around.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
Muscle paralysis may progress over hours to days if left untreated and can be fatal.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
Noun
While the progress is still a preliminary estimate, leadership points to it as proof their efforts are working after initially projecting a $177 million shortfall.
—The Arizona Republic, 19 Apr. 2024
Specifying national reporting to the INC, when appropriate, and assessing the progress and effectiveness of the agreement.
—Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 19 Apr. 2024
These participants were classified as long COVID patients, and the researchers followed their progress for the next two years.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
The bill extends the timeline for a forced sale of TikTok from six months to nine and gives the president the discretion to extend that timeline another 90 days if there’s progress toward a deal.
—Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 18 Apr. 2024
Roberts expressed hope that HB 1659, or its twin bill in the state Senate, will see progress in the coming weeks.
—Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Some of our most exciting progress over the past couple of years has been in software.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Apr. 2024
As the week progresses, additional light rain is forecasted for Thursday and on Monday, Kuroski said.
—Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
Red-state legislatures were (and still are) trying to reverse decades of progress for trans freedom.
—Diana Goetsch, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Verb
The format will feature a large number of team periods to show how the offense and defense are progressing.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Nguyen's bill hasn't progressed since securing a majority caucus vote Feb. 20.
—The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
As the experiment progressed, Ancel Keys, the nutritionist running the study, noticed odd psychological effects.
—Andrew Chapman, Longreads, 18 Apr. 2024
As their divorce progressed, things became messier as King and Newman battled over finances and custody of their children.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
And progress in taming inflation has flatlined lately, leaving the price of everything from eggs to Uber rides up dramatically from pre-pandemic levels.
—Diane Harris, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that progresses relentlessly.
—Matthew Farrer, Discover Magazine, 13 Apr. 2024
But as the season progressed and Maurice tinkered with his forward lines — sometimes out of necessity due to injuries, sometimes out of curiosity to see what groupings might work — Rodrigues became one of the primary forwards to bounce around.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024
Muscle paralysis may progress over hours to days if left untreated and can be fatal.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'progress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near progress
Cite this Entry
“Progress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progress. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
progress
1 of 2 noun
prog·ress
ˈpräg-rəs 
-ˌres,
chiefly British ˈprō-ˌgres
1
: a moving toward a goal
the progress of a ship
2
: gradual improvement or advancement
the progress of science
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share