Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Advance

Advance ({not transcribed}) , transitive verb

[Old English avancen, avauncen, French avancer, from a supposed Late Latin abantiare; ab + ante (French avant) before. The spelling with d was a mistake, a- being supposed to be from Latin ad. See Avaunt.]

1.
To bring forward; to move towards the van or front; to make to go on.
2.
To raise; to elevate. [Archaic]
They... advanced their eyelids. — Shakespeare
3.
To raise to a higher rank; to promote.
Ahasueres... advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes. — Esther iii. 1
4.
To accelerate the growth or progress; to further; to forward; to help on; to aid; to heighten; as, to advance the ripening of fruit; to advance one's interests.
5.
To bring to view or notice; to offer or propose; to show; as, to advance an argument.
Some ne'er advance a judgment of their own. — Pope
6.
To make earlier, as an event or date; to hasten.
7.
To furnish, as money or other value, before it becomes due, or in aid of an enterprise; to supply beforehand; as, a merchant advances money on a contract or on goods consigned to him.
8.
To raise to a higher point; to enhance; to raise in rate; as, to advance the price of goods.
9.
To extol; to laud. [Obsolete]
Greatly advancing his gay chivalry. — Spenser

Advance , intransitive verb

1.
To move or go forward; to proceed; as, he advanced to greet me.
2.
To increase or make progress in any respect; as, to advance in knowledge, in stature, in years, in price.
3.
To rise in rank, office, or consequence; to be preferred or promoted.
Advanced to a level with ancient peers. — Prescott

Advance , noun

[Compare French avance, from avancer. See Advance, v.]

1.
The act of advancing or moving forward or upward; progress.
2.
Improvement or progression, physically, mentally, morally, or socially; as, an advance in health, knowledge, or religion; an advance in rank or office.
3.
An addition to the price; rise in price or value; as, an advance on the prime cost of goods.
4.
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
5.
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
Collocations (1)
In advance , (a) In front; before. (b) Beforehand; before an equivalent is received. (c) In the state of having advanced money on account; as, A is in advance to B a thousand dollars or pounds.

Advance ({not transcribed}) , adjective

Before in place, or beforehand in time; -- used for advanced; as, an advance guard, or that before the main guard or body of an army; advance payment, or that made before it is due; advance proofs, advance sheets, pages of a forthcoming volume, received in advance of the time of publication.