The Collaborative International Dictionary
Advance \Ad*vance"\, n. [Cf. F. avance, fr. avancer. See Advance, v.]
The act of advancing or moving forward or upward; progress.
Improvement or progression, physically, mentally, morally, or socially; as, an advance in health, knowledge, or religion; an advance in rank or office.
An addition to the price; rise in price or value; as, an advance on the prime cost of goods.
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The first step towards the attainment of a result; approach made to gain favor, to form an acquaintance, to adjust a difference, etc.; an overture; a tender; an offer; -- usually in the plural.
[He] made the like advances to the dissenters.
--Swift. -
A furnishing of something before an equivalent is received (as money or goods), towards a capital or stock, or on loan; payment beforehand; the money or goods thus furnished; money or value supplied beforehand. I shall, with pleasure, make the necessary advances. --Jay. The account was made up with intent to show what advances had been made. --Kent. In advance
In front; before.
Beforehand; before an equivalent is received.
In the state of having advanced money on account; as, A is in advance to B a thousand dollars or pounds.
Wiktionary
adv. beforehand
WordNet
adj. situated ahead or going before; "an advance party"; "at that time the most advanced outpost was still east of the Rockies" [syn: advance(a), advanced(a), in advance(p)]
adv. ahead of time; in anticipation; "when you pay ahead (or in advance) you receive a discount"; "We like to plan ahead"; "should have made reservations beforehand" [syn: ahead, beforehand]
Usage examples of "in advance".
I find it almost impossible to pick up something someone has drawn in advance and sealed in an envelope - though the latter is irrelevant.
They can predict what their opponent will do several moves in advance because they know what their own moves will be and they know that their opponent will have no choice in how he will respond.
On land, buildings crumbled, killing ihousands, and in the sea the quakes set off additional tsunami hundreds of miles in advance of the waves from the actual impacl.
The time was occupied, on the whole, with the physical experiments planned in advance by the professor of physics from Copenhagen, Richard Mattuck, and Scott Hill, technical adviser to the Physics Faculty.
Barenna was for the moment forgetful of her nerves in the excitement of despatching servants in advance to Toledo, where she owned a summer residence.
Do not place yourself too much in advance of your men, or you will be killed, and remember - the point!
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