improve
/ɪmˈpɹuːv/
improve verb: to make (something) better; to increase the value or productivity (of something).
Verb (1)
improve (third-person singular simple present improves, present participle improving, simple past and past participle improved)
- To make (something) better; to increase the value or productivity (of something).
- Painting the woodwork will improve this house.
- Buying more servers would improve performance.
- Synonyms:
- ameliorate
- To become better.
- I have improved since taking the tablets.
- The error messages have improved since the last version, when they were incomprehensible.
- To use or employ to good purpose; to turn to profitable account.
- to improve one's time; to improve his means
- We shall especially honour God, by discharging faithfully those offices which God hath entrusted us with: by improving diligently those talents which God hath committed to usa. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number)”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn]...
Verb (2)
improve (third-person singular simple present improves, present participle improving, simple past and past participle improved)
- To disprove or make void; to refute.
- One ſayth this and a nother that / but can not agre. Nether can any of them make ſo ſtronge a reaſon vvhich a nother can not improve.1528 October 12 (Gregorian calendar), William Tyndale, “[Of the Sacramentes.] Of Order.”, in The Obediẽce of a Christen Man […], [Antwerp]: [Johannes Hoochstraten], →OCLC, folios xciij, recto –...
- To disapprove of; to find fault with; to reprove; to censure.
- [W]hen he reherſed his preachinge and his doynges vnto the hye Apoſtles / they coulde improve no thinge […]1528 October 12 (Gregorian calendar), William Tyndale, “The .IIIJ. Senses of yͤ Scripture”, in The Obediẽce of a Christen Man […], [Antwerp]: [Johannes Hoochstraten], →OCLC, folio cxlix, recto
- You would improve his negligence, too oft to ease retir’d: […][1611?], Homer, “Book X”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC; republished as The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, […], new...
improve meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
improve in Hindi
- to make something better
- सुधरना sudharnā
improve in Tamil
- உயர்வுபடுத்து, மேம்படுத்து, உருப்படு, உருப்படுத்து
improve in Marathi
- to improve
- सुधारणे sudhārṇe
improve in Urdu
- to improve, better
- سدھارنا sudhārnā
- to improve
- سدھار کرنا sudhār karnā
More languagesFewer languages
- improve in Bengali
- ফেরানো pheranō
- improve in Telugu
- బాగుచేయు bāgucēyu
- improve in Malayalam
- മെച്ചപ്പെടുത്തുക
- improve in Kannada
- ಸುಧಾರಿಸು sudhārisu
- improve in Punjabi
- ਸੁਧਰਨਾ sudharnā, ਸੁਆਰਨਾ suāranā, ਸੁਧਾਰਨਾ sudhārnā
- improve in Gujarati
- સુધારવું sudhārvũ
- improve in Odia
- ଉନ୍ନତି କରନ୍ତୁ
- improve in Nepali
- सुधार्नु sudhārnu
- improve in Tagalog
- pagandahin, ayusin
- improve in Arabic
- حَسَّنَ ḥassana, تَحَسَّنَ taḥassana
- improve in Persian
- بهبود دادن behbud dâdan, بهبود یافتن behbud yâftan
- improve in Thai
- ปรับปรุง bpràp-bprung, ดีขึ้น dii-kʉ̂n, ทุเลา tú-lao
- improve in Vietnamese
- cải thiện, cải tiến
Examples of improve in a sentence
- [A] hint that I do not remember to have seen opened and improved […]1711 July 17 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, July 7, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 111...
- How doth the little busy bee / Improve each shining hour.1715, Isaac Watts, Against Idleness and Mischief:
- [T]he court has alſo an opportunity, which it ſeldom fails to improve, […]1768, William Blackstone, “Of Judgment, and It’s Incidents”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book III (Of Private Wrongs), Oxford...
Synonyms of improve
- ameliorate
- better
- batten
- enhance
- aprimorate (non-native speakers’ English (chiefly Portuguese))
- amend
- hone
- meliorate
- refine
- get better
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of improve
| third-person singular present | improves |
|---|---|
| present participle | improving |
| past participle | improved |
| past | improved |
| alternative form | emprove |
Origin of improve
From Anglo-Norman emprouwer, from Old French en- + prou (“profit”), from Vulgar Latin prode (“advantageous, profitable”).
From Latin improbō (“disapprove, reject”). Doublet of improbate.
Words formed from improve
Words that rhyme with improve
Questions about improve
- What does improve mean?
- Improve means to make (something) better; to increase the value or productivity (of something).
- What is improve in Hindi?
- Improve in Hindi is सुधरना (sudharnā). See Improve meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use improve in a sentence?
- [A] hint that I do not remember to have seen opened and improved […]
- What part of speech is improve?
- Improve is a verb.
- How do you pronounce improve?
- Improve is pronounced /ɪmˈpɹuːv/.
- What is the past tense of improve?
- The past tense of improve is improved.
Words near improve in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: improve (page history and authors); improve (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); सुधारणे (Marathi) (page history and authors); سدھار کرنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); ফেরানো (Bengali) (page history and authors); బాగుచేయు (Telugu) (page history and authors); improve (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಸುಧಾರಿಸು (Kannada) (page history and authors); ਸੁਆਰਨਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); સુધારવું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); improve (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); सुधार्नु (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-improve.ogg.
Cite this entry: “improve.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/improve. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.