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progress

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noun [uncountable] British English pronunciation: progress

/ˈprəʊɡres/

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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 on/in:
There has not been much progress on the border issue.
progress towards:
The party called for further progress towards democracy.
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 Parliament.
monitor/track progress (=watch how something develops):
Government inspectors will monitor the progress of the scheme.
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 harbour
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phrase

in progress
happening, or being done
Harwich Road will be closed while the maintenance work is in progress.
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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 Act was an important step forward in child protection.

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

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

View the pronunciation for progress.

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