Processes

How to spell processes

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce processes

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does processes mean?

1. nounMore than one series of steps or operations carried out to achieve a result.
2. verbHandles or deals with something through a set series of steps or operations.

Processes in a sentence

• noun

  The factory reviewed its manufacturing processes to cut waste.

• verb

  The bank processes each application within five working days.

• noun

  Our internal processes for approving expenses are too slow.

• verb

  This machine processes thousands of orders every hour.

Where does processes come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the plural and verb form of 'process', which descends from the Latin processus, meaning 'a going forward' or 'an advance'. That noun was built on the verb procedere, from pro 'forward' and cedere 'to go', so the literal sense was simply movement onward toward some goal. English took the word in through Old French 'proces' in the 1300s, where it first meant the course of events or a legal proceeding before broadening to any series of steps or operations. The plural and third-person form adds '-es' because the base ends in an 's' sound, which is exactly the spelling point worth remembering. The same cedere 'to go' root quietly sits inside many relatives such as 'proceed', 'recede', and 'succeed'.

How the word is built

• process (from Latin processus: a going forward)
• -es (plural / third-person verb ending)