# processed

/ˈpɹɑsɛst/ (US)

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

## Senses

### 1. food modification

adjective · CEFR B2

food that has been changed from its natural state in a factory to make it last longer or taste different.

For teachers: referring to food items that have undergone industrial refinement, chemical treatment, or mechanical modification for preservation and flavour enhancement.

- Many people try to avoid processed foods like sausages and sugary cereals.
- The nutritionist argued that a diet high in ultra-processed foods contributes significantly to long-term metabolic health issues in urban populations.

### 3. completed a process

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal

describes something that has finished going through a necessary system or set of steps.

For teachers: having completed a specific sequence of administrative, legal, or industrial steps.

- Once the processed applications are signed, the new employees can start work.
- The processed materials were moved to the shipping bay, awaiting final inspection before being dispatched to the regional distributors.

## Examples

- The bank processed my loan application in three days.
- The factory workers processed the raw timber into high-quality paper before shipping it to the local printing press.
- Modern computers can process billions of calculations per second, allowing scientists to model complex weather patterns with unprecedented accuracy and speed.

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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.