improve meaning

improve means 'to make something better or to become better'.

improve :

to make better, to get better

Verb

▪ She wants to improve her English.

▪ She wants to make her English better.

▪ He is trying to improve his skills.

▪ He is trying to make his skills better.

paraphrasing

▪ enhance – to make better

▪ boost – to increase

▪ upgrade – to improve

▪ refine – to make more precise

improve

Pronunciation

improve [ɪmˈpruːv]

The stress is on 'prove' and sounds like 'im-proove'.

Common phrases and grammar about improve

improve - Common meaning

Verb
to make better, to get better

Part of Speech Changes for "improve"

▪ improvement (noun) – the process of making something better

▪ improved (adjective) – made better

▪

▪


Common Expressions with "improve"

▪ improve skills – to make skills better

▪ improve performance – to make performance better

▪ improve quality – to make quality better

▪ improve efficiency – to make efficiency better


Important examples of improve in TOEIC

Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC word questions, improve is often used to indicate making something better in a business context.

▪The manager wants to improve the team's productivity.
▪The manager wants to make the team's productivity better.

Example of a confusing word: approve (to agree or consent)

▪The manager wants to approve the team's productivity.
▪The manager wants to agree with the team's productivity.
"Improve" means "to make something better," and it is correctly used in the sentence "The manager wants to improve the team's productivity," indicating a desire to enhance performance. "Approve," however, means "to agree with" or "give consent to" something, and it is not used to express enhancement or improvement. The sentence "The manager wants to approve the team's productivity" is grammatically correct but semantically incorrect in this context, as it changes the intended meaning. Thus, "improve" is the appropriate choice.

Grammar examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC grammar questions, improve is used as a verb and often relates to making enhancements or changes.

▪They plan to improve the quality of the product.
▪They plan to make the product's quality better.

improve

Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC

continuous improvement

a method for making small, ongoing positive changes

▪The company uses continuous improvement to enhance its services.
▪The company uses ongoing changes to make its services better.

improve on

to make something better than before

▪They need to improve on their last sales figure.
▪They need to make their last sales figure better.

Differences between similar words and improve

improve

,

enhance

differences

improve is to make something better generally, while enhance focuses on specific aspects.

improve
▪He improved his performance.
▪He made his performance better.
enhance
▪He enhanced his performance.
▪He increased the quality of his performance.

improve

,

upgrade

differences

improve makes something better in general, while upgrade is to raise something to a higher standard.

improve
▪They improved the system.
▪They raised the system to a higher standard.
upgrade
▪They upgraded the system.
▪They raised the system to a higher standard.

Words with the same origin as improve

The origin of improve

improve comes from Latin 'probare', meaning 'to test or make better'.

Word structure

The word has the prefix 'im' and root 'prove', so improve means 'to test or make better'.

Words with the same origin

The root of improve is 'prove'. Words with the same root include 'prove', 'proof', and 'proven'.

Please select an image in the quiz

Quiz

question

Your score is

Previous post and next post

unusually

unusually

310
▪unusually high
▪unusually large
adverb ┃
Views 3
unusually

unusually

310
not normally, not typically
▪unusually high – not normally high
▪unusually large – not typically large
adverb ┃
Views 3
improve

improve

311
▪improve skills
▪improve performance
current
post
Verb ┃
Views 1
improve

improve

311
to make better, to get better
▪improve skills – to make skills better
▪improve performance – to make performance better
Verb ┃
Views 1
repair

repair

312
▪repair a car
▪repair damage
noun ┃
verb ┃
Views 0
repair

repair

312
fixing, mending
▪repair a car – fix a car
▪repair damage – fix damage
noun ┃
verb ┃
Views 0
warranty

warranty

313
▪extend the warranty
▪claim the warranty
noun ┃
Views 2
warranty

warranty

313
guarantee, assurance
▪extend the warranty – make the warranty longer
▪claim the warranty – ask for repairs under the warranty
noun ┃
Views 2
replace

replace

314
▪replace something with something
▪replace a part
Verb ┃
Views 5
replace

replace

314
to put back, to substitute
▪replace something with something
▪replace a part
Verb ┃
Views 5
Same category words
business operations, efficiency

improve

to make better, to get better
current post
311

remain

204

conduct

122

handling

1211

lean

134
TOEIC_Vocabulary_List_PDF_PC
TOEIC_Vocabulary_List_PDF_Mobile

View All TOEIC PDFs

Visitors & Members
1+