advance

—advancingly, adv.

/ad vans", -vahns"/, v., advanced, advancing, n., adj.

v.t.

1. to move or bring forward: The general advanced his troops to the new position.

2. to bring into consideration or notice; suggest; propose: to advance reasons for a tax cut.

3. to improve; further: to advance one's interests.

4. to raise in rank; promote: The board of directors advanced him to president.

5. to raise in rate or amount; increase: to advance the price.

6. to bring forward in time; accelerate: to advance growth; to advance clocks one hour.

7. to supply beforehand; furnish on credit or before goods are delivered or work is done.

8. to furnish as part of a stock or fund.

9. to supply or pay in expectation of reimbursement: They advanced her $5000 against future royalties.

10. to schedule at a later time or date: to advance a meeting from early to late fall.

11. Informal. to do advance publicity for: to advance a rock singer's personal appearances; the most heavily advanced sports event in history.

12. Archaic. to raise, as a banner.

v.i.

13. to move or go forward; proceed: The troops advanced.

14. to increase in quantity, value, price, etc.: His stock advanced three points.

15. (of a color, form, etc., on a flat surface) to move toward or be perceived as moving toward an observer, esp. as giving the illusion of space. Cf. recede¹ (def. 3).

16. to improve or make progress.

17. to grow or rise in importance, status, etc.: to advance in rank.

18. Informal. to provide publicity; do promotion: He was hired to advance for a best-selling author.

n.

19. a forward movement; progress in space: the advance of the troops to the border.

20. promotion; improvement in importance, rank, etc.: his advance to the position of treasurer.

21. Usually, advances.

a. attempts at forming an acquaintanceship, reaching an agreement, or the like, made by one party.

b. actions or words intended to be sexually inviting.

22. addition to price; rise in price: an advance on cottons.

23. Com.

a. a giving beforehand; a furnishing of something before an equivalent is received: An advance on his next month's salary permitted him to pay his debt on time.

b. the money or goods thus furnished: He received $100 as an advance against future delivery.

24. Journalism.

a. copy prepared before the event it describes has occurred: The morning papers carried advances on the ceremony, which will take place tonight.

b. a press release, wire-service dispatch, or the like, as one containing the text or partial text of a speech, sent to arrive in advance of the event to which it is related. Cf. release copy.

25. the leading body of an army.

26. Mil. (formerly) the order or a signal to advance.

27. Informal.

a. publicity done before the appearance of a noted person, a public event, etc.: She was hired to do advance for the candidate.

b. a person hired to do advance publicity for an event: He is regarded as the best advance in the business.

28. Auto., Mach. an adjustment made in the setting of the distributor of an internal-combustion engine to generate the spark for ignition in each cylinder earlier in the cycle. Cf. retard (def. 5).

29. Geol. a seaward movement of the shoreline.

30. in advance, ahead of time; beforehand: You must get your tickets in advance.

31. in advance of, in front of; before: Heralds walked in advance of the king.

adj.

32. going or placed before: an advance section of a train.

33. made or given ahead of time: an advance payment on a loan.

34. issued ahead of time: an advance copy of the President's speech.

35. having gone beyond others or beyond the average.

[1200-50; ME avauncen < AF, OF avanc(i)er < VL *abantiare, v. deriv. of LL abante in front (of) (L ab away from, off + ante before); AD- by mistaking a- for A-⁵ in the 16th cent.]

Syn. 2. adduce, propound; offer. 3. forward, promote. 6. force; quicken, hasten, speed up. 9. lend, loan. 13. ADVANCE, MOVE ON, PROCEED all imply movement forward. ADVANCE applies to forward movement, esp. toward an objective: to advance to a platform. PROCEED emphasizes movement, as from one place to another, and often implies continuing after a halt: to proceed on one's journey. MOVE ON is similar in meaning to PROCEED; it does not, however, imply a definite goal: The crowd was told to move on. 16. thrive, flourish; prosper. 20. growth, advancement. 21. overture, proposal; offer, tender. 24. prepublication. 25. spearhead.

Ant. 1, 2. withdraw. 13. retreat. 17. decrease.

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