# advance

Pronunciation: US say "ad-VANS" /ədˈvæns/; UK say "ad-VAHNS" /ədˈvɑːns/

## Verb

1. Of a person or team, to make progress and move up, as in a career, studies, a competition, or some other field.
   - Simple: To do well and move up in your work, your studies, or a competition.
   - _Employees who show initiative often advance within the company._
   - _Her careful research allowed her to advance rapidly in the field._
3. To help the progress of something; to support its development.
   - Simple: To help something grow or move forward.
   - _Her tireless work did much to advance the cause of public health._
   - _The grant will advance research into rare diseases._
5. To move forward in space, or to come nearer to something.
   - Simple: To move forward, or to come closer.
   - _The crowd advanced slowly toward the stage._
   - _Enemy troops advance whenever the fog hides their movement._
6. To put forward an idea, argument, or proposal for consideration.
   - Simple: To suggest an idea or reason for others to think about.
   - _She advanced a bold theory to explain the missing data._
   - _Critics advance the view that the policy will eventually fail._
8. Of time, a process, or a piece of work, to go on toward a later stage or come closer to being finished.
   - Simple: To move forward in time or get closer to being finished.
   - _As the talks advance toward a final agreement, both sides have grown more hopeful._
   - _As the night advanced, the music grew louder and the crowd began to thin._
10. To make something or someone move forward, especially by pushing or driving it on forcefully or with determination.
   - Simple: To push or move something forward, often with a lot of force.
   - _Engineers slowly advance the drill through layers of solid rock._
   - _She advanced the chess piece two squares to threaten the king._
12. Of a person or organization, to hand over money or something else of value early, as a loan or before it is owed or the work for it is done.
   - Simple: To lend money, or to pay it before it is due or before the work is done.
   - _The firm advanced the contractor part of the payment up front._
   - _Investors will advance capital only when the plan looks sound._
13. To raise someone to a higher rank, office, or position; to promote.
   - Simple: To give someone a higher rank or a more important position.
   - _The board voted to advance him to senior partner._
   - _He was advanced to the rank of sergeant after his second tour overseas._
14. To move an event or date to an earlier time, or to make something happen sooner.
   - Simple: To move an event to an earlier time so it happens sooner.
   - _Organizers advanced the deadline to give the judges more time._
   - _We may advance the wedding date to early spring._
15. Of a price, value, or rate: to increase, climbing to a higher level.
   - Simple: To go up or become higher, used about prices, values, or rates.
   - _Bank stocks advanced sharply in early trading on Tuesday._
   - _Analysts expect mortgage rates to advance again before spring._
17. To raise a price, rate, or amount to a higher figure.
   - Simple: To make a price, rate, or amount higher.
   - _The supplier plans to advance its prices by five percent in January._
   - _Citing higher fuel costs, the airline plans to advance its fares on most routes this summer._
18. To make a higher bid during an auction.
   - Simple: To offer more money than the last bid at an auction.
   - _When no one in the room would advance on the phone bidder's offer, the auctioneer brought down the hammer._
   - _The auctioneer asked whether anyone would advance on five thousand dollars._

## Adjective

2. Coming, given, or done ahead of time, before an event or before it is required.
   - Simple: Done or given early, before something happens or before it is needed.
   - _The team received advance notice of the schedule change._
   - _Buying advance tickets saved them a long wait at the door._
11. Positioned or sent forward, ahead of the main group.
   - Simple: Placed or sent ahead at the front.
   - _The advance guard secured the bridge before dawn._
   - _An advance unit moved ahead to scout the valley._

## Noun

4. A forward movement, or an improvement or step toward something better.
   - Simple: A step forward, or a change that makes something better.
   - _The discovery marked a major advance in cancer research._
   - _Recent advances in computing have transformed daily life._
7. A sum of money or credit given as a loan or paid before it is due.
   - Simple: Money or credit given as a loan, or money paid before it is due.
   - _The author received a generous advance before finishing the book._
   - _Cash advances on credit cards often carry high fees._
9. An opening approach or overture toward someone, now especially an unwelcome or sexual one.
   - Simple: A first move to get close to someone, often unwanted romantic attention.
   - _He made a clumsy advance that she politely declined._
   - _The manager's repeated advances led to a complaint._
16. An increase added to a price; a rise in price or value.
   - Simple: A rise in the price or value of something.
   - _The latest advance in property values priced out first-time buyers._
   - _Shareholders cheered the quarterly advance in the company's share price._

## Verb

19. To raise, lift, or elevate something. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To lift something up or raise it higher.

## Origin

Latin ab plus ante ("before") formed Late Latin ab ante, which led to Vulgar Latin *abanteāre and then to Anglo-Norman avauncier, borrowed into Middle English as avauncen. The "d" came in later by analogy with Latin ad-.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/advance (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).