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Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of improve in English

improve
verb [ I or T ]
us
/ɪmˈpruːv/ uk
/ɪmˈpruːv/
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A2
to (cause something to) get better:
He did a lot to improve conditions for factory workers.
I thought the best way to improve my French was to live in France.
Her health has improved dramatically since she started on this new diet.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to improve something
  • improveHis health has improved dramatically since he started exercising.
  • get betterThe first part of the book isn't very good but it gets better.
  • rallyThe team played badly in the first half but rallied in the second.
  • recoverWe are still waiting for the economy to recover.
  • look upOur financial situation is looking up.
  • pick upBusiness is really beginning to pick up.
See more results »
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Becoming better
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Phrasal verb

improve on/upon something
(Definition of improve from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

improve | Intermediate English

improve
verb [ I/T ]
us
/ɪmˈpruv/
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to get better, or to make something better:
[ I ] Her grades have improved greatly this semester.
[ T ] He did a lot to improve conditions for factory workers.
If you improve on something, you succeed in doing or making it better:
[ I ] The company is hoping to improve on last year’s sales figures.
(Definition of improve from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

improve | Business English

improve
verb
uk
/ɪmˈpruːv/ us
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[ I ]
to get better:
gradually/greatly/vastly improve Conditions for foreign investors are also gradually improving.
improve considerably/dramatically/significantly
[ T ]
to make something better:
We're working hard to improve the situation.
to improve performance/profitability/service
improve efficiency/quality/productivity
if prices, shares, sales, etc. improve a particular amount, they increase by that amount:
Total new business improved by almost a quarter in the three months to September 30.
The shares improved 20p to 730p.
begin/continue to improve Total exports continued to improve and increased by 10.3% in November.

Phrasal verb

improve on/upon sth
(Definition of improve from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of improve

improve
So, yeah, maybe we can improve on that.
From Wired
Inventors started improving: in a patent from 1881, the mechanical nail-biter gets a lever to add vim to your trim.
From Gizmodo
When that didn't work, companies turned to mergers to improve their bottom lines.
From CBS News
This is partly to improve our metrics for click rate and others.
From Fast Company
One is always looking for ways to improve a situation.
From TIME
Women have improved more (27.6 in 2007 to 26.8 in 2011), but not a lot.
From The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
These are the kinds of businesses that need 2 improve.
From Politico
But the fact remains that the success rates of new product introductions and innovations have improved little over the last 20 years.
From Fast Company
You just hope these people can find a way to improve themselves.
From USA TODAY
Sequestration does not improve the outlook much, either.
From The Hill
He had 30 years to improve the quality of living of his people and failled.
From CNN
The quality of some of these homes have improved significantly since then.
From The Atlantic
There are many ways to improve the challenged state of education, but parents, teachers and mentors must pursue them eagerly.
From CNN
We should be a shining light to inspire the world, but we should inspire people to improve their own countries, not move to ours.
From Los Angeles Times
It may not be the perfect solution, but it improves unauthorized use.
From Ars Technica
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of improve?
 

Translations of improve

in Chinese (Traditional)
改進，改善…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
改进，改善…
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in Spanish
mejorar…
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in Portuguese
melhorar…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Telugu
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
सुधारणा…
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～がよくなる, ～を改良する, 改善（かいぜん）する…
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iyileş(tir)mek, geliş(tir)mek, ilerle(t)mek…
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améliorer, (s’)améliorer…
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millorar…
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verbeteren…
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(எதையாவது ஏற்படுத்த) சிறப்பாக இருக்க வேண்டும்…
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(किसी चीज़ को) सुधारना, निखारना, बेहतर बनाना…
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સુધારવું…
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forbedre…
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förbättra…
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meningkatkan…
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verbessern…
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bedre, forbedre, bli bedre…
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بہتر بنانا, بہتر کرنا, سدھارنا…
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удосконалювати(ся)…
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మెరుగుగా ఉండడం మెరుగుగా ఉండడం కోసం ప్రయత్నించడం…
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বিকাশ ঘটানো, উন্নতি সাধন করা…
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zlepšit (se)…
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meningkatkan, memperbaiki…
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ดีขึ้น…
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cải thiện…
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poprawiać (się), polepszać (się), polepszyć się…
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향상시키다…
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migliorare, rendere migliore…
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improper fraction
improperly
impropriety
improv
improve
improve on/upon something phrasal verb
improved
improvement
improvement in something

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