4 VERB When people process information, they put it through a system or into a computer in order to deal with it. □ [V n] …facilities to process the data, and the right to publish the results. ● pro|cess|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ …data processing.
5 → see also word processing
6 VERB [usu passive] When people are processed by officials, their case is dealt with in stages and they pass from one stage of the process to the next. □ [be V -ed] Patients took more than two hours to be processed through the department.
7 PHRASE If you are in the process of doing something, you have started to do it and are still doing it. □ The administration is in the process of drawing up a peace plan.
8 PHRASE If you are doing something and you do something else in the process , you do the second thing as part of doing the first thing. □ You have to let us struggle for ourselves, even if we must die in the process. SYNONYMS process NOUN 1
procedure: A biopsy is usually a minor surgical procedure.
system: The present system of funding for higher education is unsatisfactory.
routine: He checked up on you as a matter of routine.
pro |cessed chee se (processed cheeses ) N‑VAR Processed cheese is cheese that has been specially made so that it can be sold and stored in large quantities. It is sometimes sold in the form of single wrapped slices.
pro|ces|sion /prəse ʃ ə n/ (processions ) N‑COUNT A procession is a group of people who are walking, riding, or driving in a line as part of a public event. □ …a funeral procession. □ …religious processions.
pro|ces|sion|al /prəse ʃən ə l/ ADJ [ADJ n] Processional means used for or taking part in a ceremonial procession. □ …the processional route.
pro|ces|sor /proʊ sesə r , [AM ] prɑː s-/ (processors )
1 N‑COUNT A processor is the part of a computer that interprets commands and performs the processes the user has requested. [COMPUTING ]
2 → see also word processor
3 N‑COUNT A processor is someone or something which carries out a process. □ …food growers and processors.
pro -choi ce also prochoice ADJ Someone who is pro-choice thinks that women have a right to choose whether or not to give birth to a child they have conceived, and to have an abortion if they do not want the child. □ …the pro-choice movement. □ Most of the electorate is pro-choice.
pro|claim /proʊkle I m/ (proclaims , proclaiming , proclaimed )
1 VERB If people proclaim something, they formally make it known to the public. □ [V n] He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives. □ [V that] Britain proudly proclaims that it is a nation of animal lovers. □ [V pron-refl n] He still proclaims himself a believer in the Revolution. [Also V n n, V n as n]
2 VERB If you proclaim something, you state it in an emphatic way. □ [V with quote] 'I think we have been heard today,' he proclaimed. □ [V that] He confidently proclaims that he is offering the best value in the market.
proc|la|ma|tion /prɒ kləme I ʃ ə n/ (proclamations ) N‑COUNT A proclamation is a public announcement about something important, often about something of national importance. □ [+ of ] …a proclamation of independence.
pro|cliv|ity /prəkl I v I ti, [AM ] proʊ-/ (proclivities ) N‑COUNT A proclivity is a tendency to behave in a particular way or to like a particular thing, often a bad way or thing. [FORMAL ] □ He was indulging his own sexual proclivities. □ …a proclivity to daydream.
pro|cras|ti|nate /proʊkræ st I ne I t/ (procrastinates , procrastinating , procrastinated ) VERB If you procrastinate , you keep leaving things you should do until later, often because you do not want to do them. [FORMAL ] □ [V ] Most often we procrastinate when faced with something we do not want to do. ● pro|cras|ti|na|tion /proʊkræ st I ne I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ He hates delay and procrastination in all its forms.
pro|cre|ate /proʊ krie I t/ (procreates , procreating , procreated ) VERB When animals or people procreate , they produce young or babies. [FORMAL ] □ [V ] Many people feel a biological need to procreate. ● pro|crea|tion /proʊ krie I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ They saw sex as for procreation only.
procu|ra|tor /prɒ kjʊre I tə r / (procurators ) N‑COUNT A procurator is an administrative official with legal powers, especially in the former Soviet Union, the Roman Catholic Church, or the ancient Roman Empire.
pro cu|ra|tor fi s|cal (procurators fiscal ) N‑COUNT In the Scottish legal system, the procurator fiscal is a public official who puts people on trial.
pro|cure /prəkjʊə r / (procures , procuring , procured )
1 VERB If you procure something, especially something that is difficult to get, you obtain it. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] It remained very difficult to procure food, fuel and other daily necessities.
2 VERB If someone procures a prostitute, they introduce the prostitute to a client. □ [V n] He procured girls of 16 and 17 to be mistresses for his influential friends.