Progress

II. pro‧gress² /prəˈɡres/ BrE AmE verb
[Word Family: noun: ↑progress, ↑progression, ↑progressive; verb: ↑progress; adverb: ↑progressively; adjective: ↑progressive]
1. [intransitive] to improve, develop, or achieve things so that you are then at a more advanced stage OPP regress:
I asked the nurse how my son was progressing.
progress to
She started with a cleaning job, and progressed to running the company.
progress towards
We must progress towards full integration of Catholic and Protestant pupils in Ireland.
progress beyond
Last year the team didn’t progress beyond the opening round.
2. [intransitive and transitive] if an activity such as work or a project progresses, or you progress it, it continues:
Work on the ship progressed quickly.
We’re hoping to progress the Lane project more quickly next week.
3. [intransitive] if time or an event progresses, time passes:
As the meeting progressed, Nina grew more and more bored.
Time is progressing, so I’ll be brief.
4. [intransitive] to move forward:
Our taxi seemed to be progressing very slowly.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

verb [prəˈɡres] ; [prəˈɡres]
1. intransitive to improve or develop over a period of time; to make progress
Syn: advance
• The course allows students to progress at their own speed.

• Work on the new road is progressing slowly.

2. intransitive + adv./prep. (formal) to move forward
• The line of traffic progressed slowly through the town.

• (figurative) Cases can take months to progress through the courts.

3. intransitive to go forward in time
Syn: go on
• The weather became colder as the day progressed.

Word Origin:
late Middle English (as a noun): from Latin progressus ‘an advance’, from the verb progredi, from pro- ‘forward’ + gradi ‘to walk’. The verb became obsolete in British English use at the end of the 17th cent. and was readopted from American English in the early 19th cent.
Thesaurus:
progress verb I
• Students progress at their own speed.
develop • • advance • • move • |informal come along/on • |especially journalism shape up •
progress/develop/move from/to sth
progress/develop/advance/move towards/beyond sth
a war/campaign progresses/develops
Example Bank:
• He felt he still needed to progress further in his learning.
• Samir failed to progress beyond this first step on the ladder.
• She soon progressed from the basics to more difficult work.
• Students progress through the stages of the course.
• The talks are progressing very well.
• The work is progressing quite slowly.
• They are anxious to progress with the plan.
• his ambition to progress up the career ladder
• progressing rapidly in his chosen career
• slowly progressing towards a new kind of art
• to progress rapidly in your career
• to progress towards/toward a new kind of art

• The visiting team's confidence increased as the game progressed.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

progress / prəˈɡres / verb [ I ]

B2 to improve or develop in skills, knowledge, etc.:

My Spanish never really progressed beyond the stage of being able to order drinks at the bar.

→ Compare regress

C2 to continue gradually:

As the war progressed more and more countries became involved.

We started off talking about the weather and gradually the conversation progressed to politics.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

progress

♦♦
progresses, progressing, progressed
(The noun is pronounced [pro͟ʊgres, AM prɑ͟ː-]u>. The verb is pronounced [prəgre̱s]u>.)
1) N-UNCOUNT Progress is the process of gradually improving or getting nearer to achieving or completing something.
  The medical community continues to make progress in the fight against cancer...
  The two sides made little if any progress towards agreement.
2) N-SING: the N, oft N of n The progress of a situation or action is the way in which it develops.
  The Chancellor is reported to have been delighted with the progress of the first day's talks...
  Ellen would keep me abreast of the progress by phone.
3) VERB To progress means to move over a period of time to a stronger, more advanced, or more desirable state.
  He will visit once a fortnight to see how his new staff are progressing...
  Were you surprised that his disease progressed so quickly?...
  [V to n] He started only five years ago, sketching first and then progressing to painting.
4) VERB If events progress, they continue to happen gradually over a period of time.
  As the evening progressed, sadness turned to rage...
  Life was hard, and it became harder as the war progressed.
5) PHRASE If something is in progress, it has started and is still continuing.
  The game was already in progress when we took our seats...
  The diaries are a mixture of confession, work in progress and observation.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

progress

²pro·gress /prəˈgrɛs/ verb -gress·es; -gressed; -gress·ing [no obj]
1 : to move forward in time
• It became colder as the day progressed. [=went on]
2 : to improve or develop over a period of time
• The project has been progressing slowly.
• The work is progressing and should be completed soon.
3 always followed by an adverb or preposition formal : to move forward or toward a place
• The caravan progressed slowly across the desert.