advance.
To promote or advantage.
Meaning & usage
To promote or advantage. To help the progress of (something); to further.
To promote or advantage. To raise (someone) in rank or office; to prefer, to promote.
To move forward in space or time. To move or push (something) forwards, especially forcefully.
To move forward in space or time. To make (something) happen at an earlier time or date; to bring forward, to hasten.
To move forward in space or time. To move forwards; to approach.
To move forward in space or time. To provide (money or other value) before it is due, or in expectation of some work; to lend.
To move forward in space or time. To put forward (an idea, argument etc.); to propose.
To move forward in space or time. To make progress; to do well, to succeed.
To move forward in space or time. To move forward in time; to progress towards completion.
To raise, be raised. To raise; to lift or elevate.
To raise, be raised. To raise or increase (a price, rate).
To raise, be raised. To increase (a number or amount).
To raise, be raised. To make a higher bid at an auction.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin ab Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Italic *anti Latin ante Latin ab ante Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *abanteāre Old French avancierbor. Middle English avauncen English advance From Middle English avauncen, avancen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman avauncier, from Vulgar Latin *abanteāre, from Late Latin ab ante, from Latin ab + ante (“before”). ⟨d⟩ added in analogy to Latin ad- (cf. Middle French advancer). Compare avaunt.
A forward move; improvement or progression.
an advance in health or knowledge
an advance in rank or office
An amount of money or credit, especially given as a loan, or paid before it is due; an advancement.
An addition to the price; rise in price or value.
an advance on the prime cost of goods
An opening approach or overture, now especially of an unwelcome or sexual nature.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin ab Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Italic *anti Latin ante Latin ab ante Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *abanteāre Old French avancierbor. Middle English avauncen English advance From Middle English avauncen, avancen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman avauncier, from Vulgar Latin *abanteāre, from Late Latin ab ante, from Latin ab + ante (“before”). ⟨d⟩ added in analogy to Latin ad- (cf. Middle French advancer). Compare avaunt.
Completed before necessary or a milestone event.
He made an advance payment on the prior shipment to show good faith.
Preceding.
The advance man came a month before the candidate.
Forward.
The scouts found a site for an advance base.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin ab Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Italic *anti Latin ante Latin ab ante Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *abanteāre Old French avancierbor. Middle English avauncen English advance From Middle English avauncen, avancen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman avauncier, from Vulgar Latin *abanteāre, from Late Latin ab ante, from Latin ab + ante (“before”). ⟨d⟩ added in analogy to Latin ad- (cf. Middle French advancer). Compare avaunt.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.