progress

/ˈpɹəʊ.ɡɹɛs/

//ˈpɹəʊ.ɡɹɛs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"progress" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“progress” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,734. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,734
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Movement or advancement through a series of events, or points in time; development through time.

Corpus desk

Index EN-progress · progress · English

progress · rank #1,734 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,734
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH produce

Nearest frequency peer: produce (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “progress”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “progress” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

progress vs prowess
75% similar
progress vs progresses
80% similar
progress vs process
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for progress
PropertyValue
Headwordprogress
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹəʊ.ɡɹɛs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,734
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “progress” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). progress lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around progress (IPA /ˈpɹəʊ.ɡɹɛs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,734 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for progress, with forms such as "porgress", "pprogress", and "prgoress". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "prowess", "progresses", "process", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English progresse, from Old French progres (“a going forward”), from Latin prōgressus (“an advance”), from the participle stem of prōgredī (“to go forward, advance, develop”), from pro- (“forth, before”) + gradi (“to walk, go”). Displaced native… The correct English form is progress, spelled P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Movement or advancement through a series of events, or points in time; development through time.
  2. 2
    Specifically, advancement to a higher or more developed state; development, growth.
  3. 3
    An official journey made by a monarch or other high personage; a state journey, a circuit.
  4. 4
    A journey forward; travel.
  5. 5
    Movement onwards, forwards, or towards a specific objective or direction; advance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how progress appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Testing for the new antidote is currently in progress.
  2. Science has made extraordinary progress in the last fifty years.

Etymology

From Middle English progresse, from Old French progres (“a going forward”), from Latin prōgressus (“an advance”), from the participle stem of prōgredī (“to go forward, advance, develop”), from pro- (“forth, before”) + gradi (“to walk, go”). Displaced native Old English forþgang.

This word in other languages

progreso(Español)progrès(Français)Fortschritt(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porgress
  • pprogress
  • prgoress
  • progerss
  • proggress
  • progres
  • progrress
  • progrses
  • prorgess
  • prrogress
  • rpogress

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of progress - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

porgress2pprogress1prgoress2progerss2proggress1progres1progrress1progrses2
Edit distance from "progress"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "progress"?
"progress" is spelled P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹəʊ.ɡɹɛs/.
What does "progress" mean?
As a noun, "progress" means: Movement or advancement through a series of events, or points in time; development through time.
What words are commonly confused with "progress"?
"progress" is commonly confused with "prowess", "progresses", "process". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "progress"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "progress" is /ˈpɹəʊ.ɡɹɛs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "progress"?
From Middle English progresse, from Old French progres (“a going forward”), from Latin prōgressus (“an advance”), from the participle stem of prōgredī (“to go forward, advance, develop”), from pro- (“forth, before”) + gradi (“to walk, go”). Displa... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "progress", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shooting#1,737function#1,720negative#1,700possibly#1,770

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

herself11 variantshelping11 variantsCharles11 variantsconcept11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "progress". Here's where to go from here.

  • "progress" maps to 5 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "prowess". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,734 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list