Improvement

/ɪmˈpɹuːvmənt/ · noun

Meaning

The act of improving; advancement or growth; a bettering.

Definitions by Sense

1. The act of improving; advancement or growth; a bettering
2. The act of making profitable use or application of anything, or the state of being profitably employed; practical application, for example of a doctrine, principle, or theory, stated in a discourse.
3. The state of being improved; betterment; advance
4. Something which is improved
5. Increase; growth; progress; advance.
6. (in the plural) Valuable additions or betterments, for example buildings, clearings, drains, fences, etc., on premises.
7. (Patent Laws): A useful addition to, or modification of, a machine, manufacture, or composition.

Example Sentences

November 9, 1662, Robert South, Of the Creation of Man in the Image of God I look upon your city as […] the best place of improvement.

Exercise is the chief source of improvement in all our faculties.

Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.

Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.

good improvement of his reason.

I shall make some improvement of this doctrine.

the new edition is an improvement on the old.

The decade has seen vast improvements in techniques.

Synonyms for improvement

Antonyms for improvement

Related Words

Word Forms

• improvements
• emprovement

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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