Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

progress

- definition

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

noun [uncountable] American English pronunciation: progress

/ˈprɑɡrəs/

Other entries for this word

Related dictionary definitions

Get It Right!

1
the process of developing or improving
I'm worried about my son's lack of progress in English.
progress of:
Keep me informed about the progress of the project.
progress toward:
The party called for further progress toward democracy.
progress on/in:
There has not been much progress on the border issue.
make progress:
Recently negotiators have made considerable progress in the talks.
follow/chart someone's progress:
The documentary follows the progress of a candidate for the Ohio state Senate.
monitor/track progress (=watch how something develops):
Government inspectors will monitor the progress of the plan.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of progress
1. a.
  [only before noun] relating to someone's or something's progress
  a progress meeting/report/review
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of progress
Collocations: progress
Collocations
progress1
▪ considerable, great, rapid, remarkable, significant, slow, steady, substantial, tangible
progress1
▪ assess, block, chart, check, evaluate, follow, halt, hamper, hinder, impede, monitor, obstruct, review, slow, track, watch
2
mainly literary forward movement
the ship's slow progress across the harbor
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of progress

phrase

in progress
happening, or being done
The main street will be closed while the maintenance work is in progress.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of progress

Get It Right!: progress

Get it right: progress

Progress is an uncountable noun, and so:

▪ it never comes after a

▪ it is never used in the plural

✗ The 20th century has brought about a tremendous progress in science.

✓ The 20th century has brought about tremendous progress in science.

✗ During the last two centuries, technology, medicine, and psychology have made great progresses.

✓ During the last two centuries, technology, medicine, and psychology have made great progress.

Q. How can I refer to a single instance of progress, rather than to progress in general?

A. You can just use progress on its own:

They have made considerable progress.

You can also talk about an advance (advance is a countable noun) or, when referring to an action that improves a situation, a step forward:

Biochemists interested in nutrition laid the foundations for the next major advance in the treatment of cancer.

The law was an important step forward in child protection.

This is the American English definition of progress. View British English definition of progress.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

charticle

a news article that consists of a chart … and only has a small amount of text

BuzzWord Article

More BuzzWords

BuzzWord archive

Word of the Day

proton

the part of the nucleus of an atom that has a positive electrical charge

Word of the Day

Open Dictionary

never event

an event that should never occur in a healthcare setting …

add a word

More submissions

view entries

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog