Advance

/ədˈvɑːns/ adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A forward move; improvement or progression.
  • Grammar: advance is listed as adj, noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: cash advance, improvement, progress, rise.
  • Useful contrasts: abased, becalmed, crippled.
  • Usage evidence: You should pay your rent in advance.

How to use "advance"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "advance" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "advance" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "advance" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "advance" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "advance" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "cash advance" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "advance", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A forward move; improvement or progression.

    "an advance in health or knowledge"

  2. 2
    the act of moving forward (as toward a goal) wordnet
  3. 3
    An amount of money or credit, especially given as a loan, or paid before it is due; an advancement.

    "Could he ask the cashier privately for an advance? No, the cashier was no good, no damn good: he wouldn't give an advance."

  4. 4
    increase in price or value wordnet
  5. 5
    An addition to the price; rise in price or value.

    "an advance on the prime cost of goods"

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others wordnet
  2. 7
    An opening approach or overture, now especially of an unwelcome or sexual nature. in-plural, often

    "For, if it were of any use to recall matters of fact, what is more notorious, than that prince's applying himself first to the church of England? and upon their refusal to fall in with his measures, making the like advances to the dissenters of all kinds, who readily and almost universally complied with him"

  3. 8
    a change for the better; progress in development wordnet
  4. 9
    a movement forward wordnet
  5. 10
    an amount paid before it is earned wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To promote or advantage.; To help the progress of (something); to further.

    "Some see it as in effect the end of the Syrian uprising that began with peaceful protests against Assad’s police state in 2011, with opposition fighters working to advance Turkey’s interests at the expense of the revolution’s goals."

  2. 2
    rise in rate or price wordnet
  3. 3
    To promote or advantage.; To raise (someone) in rank or office; to prefer, to promote.

    "After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him."

  4. 4
    increase or raise wordnet
  5. 5
    To move forward in space or time.; To move or push (something) forwards, especially forcefully.

    "Whence and what art thou, execrable shape, / That dar'st, though grim and terrible, advance / Thy miscreated front athwart my way / To yonder gates?"

Show 20 more definitions
  1. 6
    develop in a positive way wordnet
  2. 7
    To move forward in space or time.; To make (something) happen at an earlier time or date; to bring forward, to hasten.

    "[S]in and sorrow it were, considering the hardships of this noble and gallant knight, no whit mentioning or weighing those we ourselves have endured, if we were now either to advance or retard the hour of refection beyond the time when the viands are fit to be set before us."

  3. 8
    develop further wordnet
  4. 9
    To move forward in space or time.; To move forwards; to approach. intransitive

    "I advanced towards him step by step, stopping sometimes for fear of waking him."

  5. 10
    bring forward for consideration or acceptance wordnet
  6. 11
    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.

    "“I had intended to ask you to advance me a hundred pounds,” said Phineas."

  7. 12
    obtain advantages, such as points, etc. wordnet
  8. 13
    To move forward in space or time.; To put forward (an idea, argument etc.); to propose.

    "Some ne'er advance a Judgement of their own, / But catch the spreading notion of the Town […]."

  9. 14
    move forward, also in the metaphorical sense wordnet
  10. 15
    To move forward in space or time.; To make progress; to do well, to succeed. intransitive

    "Earlier the caller said men were more likely to be in senior positions. Clegg says that's partly because the current maternity leave arrangements make it difficult for women to advance in the workplace."

  11. 16
    cause to move forward wordnet
  12. 17
    To move forward in space or time.; To move forward in time; to progress towards completion. intransitive

    "I can promise you that you will feel even less humorous as the evening advances."

  13. 18
    move forward wordnet
  14. 19
    To raise, be raised.; To raise; to lift or elevate. archaic, transitive

    "The fringed Curtaines of thine eyes aduance."

  15. 20
    pay in advance wordnet
  16. 21
    To raise, be raised.; To raise or increase (a price, rate).

    "In February last […] bakers advanced the price of bread sold over the counter in London from 8d. to 8½d. per quartern loaf."

  17. 22
    give a promotion to or assign to a higher position wordnet
  18. 23
    To raise, be raised.; To increase (a number or amount).
  19. 24
    contribute to the progress or growth of wordnet
  20. 25
    To raise, be raised.; To make a higher bid at an auction. intransitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Completed before necessary or a milestone event.

    "He made an advance payment on the prior shipment to show good faith."

  2. 2
    Preceding.

    "The advance man came a month before the candidate."

  3. 3
    Forward.

    "The scouts found a site for an advance base."

Adjective
  1. 1
    situated ahead or going before wordnet
  2. 2
    being ahead of time or need wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
cash advanceimprovementprogressriseabetacademic discipline approach

Example

"You should pay your rent in advance."

Common questions

What does "advance" mean?

A forward move; improvement or progression.

What is a synonym for "advance"?

Common synonyms include: cash advance, improvement, progress, rise, abet, academic discipline approach.

How do you use "advance" in a sentence?

You should pay your rent in advance.

How do you pronounce "advance"?

Pronounced /ədˈvɑːns/.

Etymology

Etymology tree 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 Late Latin ab ante Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō 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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Synonyms

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