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Webster 1913 Edition

Improvement

Im-prove′ment

,
Noun.
1.
The act of improving; advancement or growth; promotion in desirable qualities; progress toward what is better; melioration;
as, the
improvement
of the mind, of land, roads, etc.
I look upon your city as the best place of
improvement
.
South.
Exercise is the chief source of
improvement
in all our faculties.
Blair.
2.
The act of making profitable use or applicaton of anything, or the state of being profitably employed; a turning to good account; practical application, as of a doctrine, principle, or theory, stated in a discourse.
“A good improvement of his reason.”
S. Clarke.
I shall make some
improvement
of this doctrine.
Tillotson.
3.
The state of being improved; betterment; advance; also, that which is improved;
as, the new edition is an
improvement
on the old
.
The parts of Sinon, Camilla, and some few others, are
improvements
on the Greek poet.
Addison.
4.
Increase; growth; progress; advance.
There is a design of publishing the history of architecture, with its several
improvements
and decays.
Addison.
Those vices which more particularly receive
improvement
by prosperity.
South.
5.
pl.
Valuable additions or betterments, as buildings, clearings, drains, fences, etc., on land or premises;
as, to convey the land together with all
improvements
.
6.
(Patent Laws)
A useful addition to, or modification of, a machine, manufacture, or composition.
Kent.

Webster 1828 Edition

Improvement

IMPROVEMENT

,
Noun.
improov'ment. Advancement in moral worth, learning, wisdom, skill or other excellence; as the improvement of the mind or of the heart by cultivation; improvement in classical learning, science or mechanical skill; improvement in music; improvement in holiness.
1.
Melioration; a making or growing better, or more valuable; as the improvement of barren or exhausted land; the improvement of the roads; the improvement of the breed of horses or cattle.
2.
A valuable addition; excellence added, or a change for the better; sometimes with on.
The parts of Sinon, Camilla, and some few others, are improvements on the Greek poet.
3.
Advance or progress from any state to a better.
There is a design of publishing the history of architecture, with its several improvements and decays.
4.
Instruction; growth in knowledge or refinement; edification.
I look upon your city as the best place of improvement.
5.
Use or employment to beneficial purposes; a turning to good account; as the improvement of natural advantages or spiritual privileges.
A good improvement of his reason.
6.
Practical application; as the improvement of the doctrines and principles of a sermon.
I shall make some improvement of this doctrine.
Hence,
7.
The part of a discourse intended to enforce and apply the doctrines, is called the improvement.
8.
Use; occupancy.
9.
Improvements, plu.,valuable additions or melioration, as building, clearings, drains, fences, &c., on a farm.

Definition 2024

improvement

improvement

English

Alternative forms

Noun

improvement ‎(countable and uncountable, plural improvements)

  1. The act of improving; advancement or growth; promotion in desirable qualities; progress toward what is better; melioration; as, the improvement of the mind, of land, roads, etc.
    • Robert South
      I look upon your city as the best place of improvement.
    • Hugh Blair
      Exercise is the chief source of improvement in all our faculties.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 19, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      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.
    • 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
      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.
  2. The act of making profitable use or application of anything, or the state of being profitably employed; a turning to good account; practical application, as of a doctrine, principle, or theory, stated in a discourse.
  3. The state of being improved; betterment; advance; also, that which is improved; as, the new edition is an improvement on the old.
    • Joseph Addison
      The parts of Sinon, Camilla, and some few others, are improvements on the Greek poet.
  4. Increase; growth; progress; advance.
    • Joseph Addison
      There is a design of publishing the history of architecture, with its several improvements and decays.
    • Robert South
      Those vices which more particularly receive improvement by prosperity.
  5. (plural): Valuable additions or betterments, as buildings, clearings, drains, fences, etc., on premises.
  6. (Patent Laws): A useful addition to, or modification of, a machine, manufacture, or composition.

Synonyms

  • improval

Hyponyms

Translations

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman emprouwement; synchronically improve +‎ -ment.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɹuːvmənt/
  • Hyphenation: im‧prove‧ment

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