Proceedings

prəˈsiːdɪŋz

nounmedium📊CommonLiterature
2 meanings3 idioms/phrases3 questions

Definitions

2 meanings
1

A series of actions or events, especially of a formal or official nature.

prəˈsiːdɪŋz

nounneutralmedium
Literature

A record of events, especially those of a formal meeting.

The proceedings of the trial were widely reported in the media.

💡 Simply: Imagine you're at a meeting. The 'proceedings' are like a detailed story of everything that happened, from start to finish. It's a record of the actions and decisions made, often written down for others to read.

👶 For kids: Like what happens at a meeting! The 'proceedings' are everything they do and say.

More Examples

2

The committee is responsible for recording the proceedings of each meeting.

3

She studied the conference proceedings to learn more about the research.

How It's Used

Legal

"The court proceedings were open to the public."

Academic

"The conference proceedings were published online."

Business

"The board reviewed the day's proceedings during their executive meeting."

2

The act or process of taking legal action.

prəˈsiːdɪŋz

nounneutralmedium
Legal

The actions or process of taking legal action.

The company is facing bankruptcy proceedings.

💡 Simply: When someone takes legal 'proceedings,' they are starting the official process to get help from a court or the law to solve a problem. It's like starting a formal game with rules to get to a fair outcome.

👶 For kids: When grown-ups go to court to solve a problem, those are the 'proceedings'.

More Examples

2

The legal proceedings could take several years to resolve.

3

He decided to drop the proceedings due to the costs.

How It's Used

Legal

"She initiated legal proceedings against the company."

Financial

"Bankruptcy proceedings were filed."

Tip:Think of legal *proceedings* as the *steps* taken to resolve a legal matter.

Idioms & expressions

legal proceedings

The formal process of taking legal action.

"The company threatened to initiate legal proceedings."

bankruptcy proceedings

The legal actions taken when a person or company cannot pay its debts.

"The company filed for bankruptcy proceedings to restructure its debts."

start proceedings

To begin the process of doing something formal, especially legal actions.

"The lawyer decided to start proceedings against the landlord."

From the verb 'proceed,' meaning to move forward or continue. The word 'proceed' comes from Old French 'procéder' and Latin 'procedere,' meaning 'to go forth, advance.' The '-ings' suffix indicates a plural noun denoting actions or events.

The word 'proceedings' has been used since the 16th century to denote a series of actions or events.

Memory tip

Think of the *proceedings* as the *events* that followed during a conference or trial.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"to go forward"

legal proceedingscourt proceedingsbankruptcy proceedingsconference proceedingsdisciplinary proceedings

Common misspellings

proseedingsproceeding's

Usage

30%Spoken
70%Written