# proceeding

/pɹəˈsidɪŋ/ (US) · /pɹəsˈiːdɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/proceeding
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. legal action

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a formal action taken in a court of law.

For teachers: a formal legal action or a specific step taken in a court case; often used in the plural to describe the entire case.

- The legal proceedings against the company lasted for over three years.
- The judge stayed the proceedings pending the discovery of new evidence that could fundamentally alter the defendant's plea.

Usage: Usually used in the plural form 'proceedings' when referring to a court case.

### 2. an event or series of actions

noun · CEFR B2 · Formal

an event or a series of things that happen, especially at a meeting or ceremony.

For teachers: a sequence of events or activities occurring at a particular time and place, often following a formal structure.

- The mayor opened the proceedings with a short speech about the new park.
- A sense of solemnity governed the proceedings as the committee began the task of reviewing the annual budget.

Usage: Often used in the plural to describe the activities of a meeting or event.

### 3. academic records

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic

a published collection of reports or papers from a professional meeting or conference.

For teachers: the published record of the papers delivered or the business transacted at a meeting of a learned society or academic conference.

- You can find her latest research paper in the conference proceedings.
- The proceedings of the international physics symposium were published online, providing immediate access to the latest experimental data.

## Examples

- The legal proceeding lasted for several months.
- The judge decided to delay the proceeding until the defense lawyer could find the missing witness.
- While the initial proceeding focused on procedural errors, the subsequent appeal addressed the substantive constitutional questions that had been ignored during the first trial.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.