improve
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im·prove
(ĭm-pro͞ov′)v. im·proved, im·prov·ing, im·proves
v.tr.
1. To raise to a more desirable or more excellent quality or condition; make better: Exercise can improve your health.
2. To increase the productivity or value of (land or property): improved the house by adding a bathroom.
v.intr.
1. To become better: Economic conditions are improving.
2. To make beneficial additions or changes: You can improve on the translation of that text.
[Middle English improwen, to enclose land for cultivation, from Anglo-Norman emprouwer, to turn to profit : Old French en-, causative pref. (from Latin in-; see in-2) + Old French prou, profit (from Late Latin prōde, advantageous; see proud).]
im·prov′a·ble adj.
im·prov′a·bly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
improve
(ɪmˈpruːv)vb
1. to make or become better in quality; ameliorate
2. (tr) to make (buildings, land, etc) more valuable by additions or betterment
3. (intr; usually foll by on or upon) to achieve a better standard or quality in comparison (with): to improve on last year's crop.
n
on the improve informal Austral improving
[C16: from Anglo-French emprouer to turn to profit, from en prou into profit, from prou profit, from Late Latin prōde beneficial, from Latin prōdesse to be advantageous, from pro-1 + esse to be]
imˈprovable adj
imˌprovaˈbility, imˈprovableness n
imˈprovably adv
imˈprover n
imˈprovingly adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
im•prove
(ɪmˈpruv)v. -proved, -prov•ing. v.t.
1. to bring into a more desirable or excellent condition; make better: improving one's health.
2. to make (land) more useful, profitable, or valuable by enclosure, cultivation, etc.
3. to increase the value of (real property) by betterments.
v.i. 4. to increase in quality or value; become better.
5. to make improvements.
[1425–75; late Middle English improuen, emprouen < Anglo-French emprouer < Late Latin prōde (est), Latin prōdest (it) is beneficial, of use]
im•prov′a•ble, adj.
im•prov`a•bil′i•ty, im•prov′a•ble•ness, n.
im•prov′a•bly, adv.
im•prov′ing•ly, adv.
syn: improve, ameliorate, better imply bringing to a more desirable state. improve usu. implies remedying a lack or a felt need: to improve a process. ameliorate, a formal word, implies improving oppressive, unjust, or difficult conditions: to ameliorate working conditions. better implies improving conditions that are adequate but could be more satisfactory: to better a previous attempt; to better oneself by study.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
improve
- First meant "to make a profit for oneself" or "to employ to advantage; to make profitable use of."See also related terms for profit.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
improve
Past participle: improved
Gerund: improving
| Imperative |
|---|
| improve |
| improve |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. |  improve - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes"alleviate, relieve, palliate, assuage - provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" revitalize, regenerate - restore strength; "This food revitalized the patient" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" enrich - make better or improve in quality; "The experience enriched her understanding"; "enriched foods" build up, develop - change the use of and make available or usable; "develop land"; "The country developed its natural resources"; "The remote areas of the country were gradually built up" turn around - improve dramatically; "The new strategy turned around sales"; "The tutor turned around my son's performance in math" help - improve; change for the better; "New slipcovers will help the old living room furniture" upgrade - to improve what was old or outdated; "I've upgraded my computer so I can run better software"; "The company upgraded their personnel" condition - put into a better state; "he conditions old cars" emend - make improvements or corrections to; "the text was emended in the second edition" enhance - make better or more attractive; "This sauce will enhance the flavor of the meat" fix, furbish up, mend, repair, bushel, doctor, touch on, restore - restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes please" reform - make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices; "reform a political system" reform - improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition; "reform the health system in this country" build - improve the cleansing action of; "build detergents" fine-tune, refine, polish, down - improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; "refine one's style of writing" distill, make pure, purify, sublimate - remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation; "purify the water" fructify - make productive or fruitful; "The earth that he fructified" advance - develop further; "We are advancing technology every day" upgrade - give better travel conditions to; "The airline upgraded me when I arrived late and Coach Class was full" educate - give an education to; "We must educate our youngsters better" |
| 2. |  improve - get better; "The weather improved toward evening"heal - get healthy again; "The wound is healing slowly" change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" see the light, straighten out, reform - change for the better; "The lazy student promised to reform"; "the habitual cheater finally saw the light" surge - see one's performance improve; "He levelled the score and then surged ahead" turn around, pick up - improve significantly; go from bad to good; "Her performance in school picked up" ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes" fructify - become productive or fruitful; "The seeds fructified" upgrade - get better travel conditions; "I upgraded to First Class when Coach Class was overbooked" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
improve
verb
1. enhance, better, add to, upgrade, amend, mend, augment, embellish, touch up, ameliorate, polish up He improved their house.
enhance damage, harm, mar, worsen, impair
enhance damage, harm, mar, worsen, impair
2. get better, pick up, look up (informal), develop, advance, perk up, take a turn for the better (informal) The weather is beginning to improve.
3. make better, perfect, polish, strengthen, temper, refine, cultivate, elevate, hone He said he wanted to improve his football.
4. recuperate, recover, rally, mend, make progress, turn the corner, gain ground, gain strength, convalesce, be on the mend, grow better, make strides, take on a new lease of life (informal) He had improved so much the doctor cut his dosage.
improve on something beat, top, better, cap (informal), exceed, trump, surpass, outstrip, outdo We need to improve on our performance against France.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
improve
verb2. To regain one's health:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُحَسِّنُيُحَسِّن
zlepšitvylepšit
forbedre
verbessernmeliorieren
plibonigi
parantuaparantaa
poboljšati
javítjavulmegjavultökéletesít
bæta, laga
改善する
개선하다
pagerėjimaspatobulinimaspatobulinti
pilnveidotpilnveidotiesuzlabotuzlaboties
beterenverbeteren
izboljšatiizboljšati se
förbättra (sig)förbättras
ทำให้ดีขึ้น
düzel mekgeliş mekgeliştirmekiyileş mek
cải thiện
improve
[ɪmˈpruːv]A. VT
1. (= make better) [+ work] → mejorar; [+ property] → hacer mejoras en
to improve o.s. or one's mind → cultivarse, instruirse
to improve o.s (in wealth) → mejorar su situación
to improve o.s. or one's mind → cultivarse, instruirse
to improve o.s (in wealth) → mejorar su situación
2. (= favour) [+ appearance] → favorecer
3. (= perfect) [+ skill] → perfeccionar; (= add value to) → aumentar el valor de
to improve one's Spanish → perfeccionar sus conocimientos del español
to improve one's Spanish → perfeccionar sus conocimientos del español
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
improve
[ɪmˈpruːv] vi
(= get better) → s'améliorer
The weather is improving → Le temps s'améliore.
My French has improved → Mon français s'est amélioré.
The situation isn't going to improve → La situation ne va pas s'améliorer.
The weather is improving → Le temps s'améliore.
My French has improved → Mon français s'est amélioré.
The situation isn't going to improve → La situation ne va pas s'améliorer.
(= make progress) [pupil, student] → faire des progrès
[patient]
She may improve with medical treatment → Son état pourrait s'améliorer avec le traitement.
She may improve with medical treatment → Son état pourrait s'améliorer avec le traitement.
improve on
vt fus [+ offer] → enchérir sur
(= surpass) [+ record, time] → améliorer
He will be aiming to improve on last year's winning time of 10.3 sec → Il aura pour objectif d'améliorer son temps victorieux de l'année dernière, 10,3 s.
He will be aiming to improve on last year's winning time of 10.3 sec → Il aura pour objectif d'améliorer son temps victorieux de l'année dernière, 10,3 s.
(= make better) → améliorer
(= be better than) [+ original, previous version] → être un progrès par rapport à
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
improve
vt
(= make better) → verbessern; knowledge → erweitern; salaries → aufbessern; area, appearance → verschönern; sauce, food etc → verfeinern; production, value → erhöhen, steigern; to improve one’s mind → sich weiterbilden
to improve the shining hour (liter) → die Gelegenheit beim Schopfe packen
vi → sich verbessern, sich bessern; (area, appearance) → schöner werden; (production, value) → sich erhöhen, steigen; he has improved in maths → er hat sich in Mathematik gebessert; to improve with practice → durch Übung besser werden; wine improves with age → je älter der Wein desto besser; the invalid is improving → dem Kranken geht es besser; I’ll try to improve → ich werde versuchen, mich zu bessern; things are improving → es sieht schon besser aus, die Lage bessert sich
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
improve
[ɪmˈpruːv]1. vt (gen) → migliorare; (property, land) → apportare migliorie a; (production, yield, salary) → aumentare
to improve one's Italian → perfezionare il proprio italiano
to improve one's chances of success → aumentare le proprie probabilità di successo
to improve one's mind → migliorare la propria cultura
to improve one's Italian → perfezionare il proprio italiano
to improve one's chances of success → aumentare le proprie probabilità di successo
to improve one's mind → migliorare la propria cultura
2. vi (gen) → migliorare; (person, in skill) → fare (dei) progressi
to improve in sth → migliorare or fare (dei) progressi in qc
to improve with age/use → migliorare con gli anni/con l'uso
this wine improves with age → questo vino migliora con l'invecchiamento
to improve in sth → migliorare or fare (dei) progressi in qc
to improve with age/use → migliorare con gli anni/con l'uso
this wine improves with age → questo vino migliora con l'invecchiamento
improve (up)on vi + prep (offer) → aumentare; (work) → ottenere dei risultati migliori rispetto a; (method) → perfezionare; (quality) → migliorare
I can't improve on my offer to you → non posso farti un'offerta migliore
I can't improve on my offer to you → non posso farti un'offerta migliore
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
improve
(imˈpruːv) verb to (cause to) become better, of higher quality etc. His work has greatly improved; They recently improved the design of that car.
imˈprovement noun1. the state or act of improving or being improved. There has been a great improvement in her work; The patient's condition shows some improvement.
2. something which improves, or adds beauty, value etc. I've made several improvements to the house.
improve on to produce something which is better, more useful etc than. I think I can improve on that suggestion.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
improve
→ يُحَسِّنُ zlepšit (se) forbedre verbessern βελτιώνω mejorar parantua améliorer poboljšati migliorare 改善する 개선하다 verbeteren forbedre ulepszyć melhorar улучшать förbättra (sig) ทำให้ดีขึ้น geliştirmek cải thiện 改进Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
improve
v. mejorar; adelantar; mejorarse, recuperarse; restablecerse.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
improve
vt mejorar; vi mejorarse, (patient) recuperarseEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.