I. prog·ress ˈprä]grə̇s, ]ˌgres, sometimes ˈprō] noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English progresse, from Latin progressus advance, from progressus, past participle of progredi to go forth, go forward, advance, from pro- forward + -gredi (from gradi to step, go) — more at pro- , grade
1.
a.
(1) : a royal journey or tour marked by pomp and pageant
a staff of clerks accompanied the king on his progresses — F.M.Stenton
(2) : a state procession
at last all was ready for my progress — George VI
b. : an official journey or circuit
these men of law … on a progress from court to court — Van Wyck Brooks
c. : a journeying forward : an expedition, journey, or march through a region : tour
balls, dinners and crowds of beautiful women attended his progress — Time
2.
a. : an advance or movement to an objective or toward a goal : purposeful getting or going ahead
when impeded in their progress , these people suddenly ceased muttering — E.A.Poe
a fishing boat made a slow progress — Elizabeth Bowen
progress to the presidency and chairmanship of the board — Current Biography
b. : a movement onward (as in time or space) : a forward course : progression
the daily progress of the sun
the progress of a disease
we make progress — we pass from night to morning — Edmund Wilson
3. Scots law : succession in right to a feudal estate : the abstract of title with the deeds evidencing such succession
4.
a. : the action or process of advancing or improving by marked stages or degrees : gradual betterment ; especially : the progressive development or evolution of mankind
there was a general belief in inevitable and universal progress — John Berger
found in civil law principles … the analogies that were needed to smooth the path of progress — B.N.Cardozo
b. : a theory that change from old to new is essential to progress
•
- in progress
II. pro·gress prəˈgres, prōˈ-\ verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: partly from progress (I) ; partly from Latin progressus, past participle of progredi
intransitive verb
1. : to make a journey ; especially : to make a royal progress
2. : to move forward : to proceed or advance from place to place, point to point, or step to step
simply progress from one place to another as her fancy dictated — Louis Bromfield
the fireplace is progressing, but not finished yet — Rachel Henning
3. : to develop to a higher, better, or more advanced stage : make continual improvements
deductive reasoning had to be combined with the methods of experimentation … before science could progress — J.B.Conant
4. : to proceed from one musical note or tone to the next
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to pass over or through
2. : to cause to progress : push forward : advance
a really big housing program cannot be successfully progressed — Americana Annual