Progress is forward movement toward a goal or improvement over time. When you're making progress on a book report, you're getting closer to finishing it. When a city makes progress cleaning up a polluted river, the water becomes clearer and healthier each year.

The word carries a sense of positive change. A doctor might say a patient is making progress in recovering from an injury, meaning they're getting better, not worse. A student who struggled with fractions but now solves them correctly has made real progress in math. Scientists track their progress toward curing diseases, measuring each small discovery that brings them closer to their goal.

Progress can happen slowly or quickly. Learning to play piano takes months of practice, with small bits of progress each week. Sometimes progress stalls: you might feel stuck on a difficult level in a video game or a challenging chapter in a book. But when you finally push through, that's progress too.

As a verb, to progress means to move forward or develop: “The construction crew progressed from laying the foundation to framing the walls.”

Real progress means actually moving closer to your goal. Spending three hours on homework counts as progress only if you're completing assignments and understanding the material. You might stay busy doodling and daydreaming, but progress requires genuine advancement toward what you're trying to achieve.