From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishimproveim‧prove /ɪmˈpruːv/ ●●● S2 W1 verb [intransitive, transitive]IMPROVE to make something better, or to become better a course for students wishing to improve their English The doctors say she is improving (=after being ill). You could use the money for improving your home. Many wines improve with age (=get better as they get older).RegisterIn everyday English, people often say something gets better rather than improves:Her English is definitely getting better.I hope things get better soon. → improve on/upon something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
improve• Changes will be made if the situation doesn't improve.• In the weeks that followed, his health continued to improve.• She was told to go back to the doctor in two weeks if she hadn't improved.• Medical facilities, too, have vastly improved and are more widely available.• Let's hope the weather improves before Saturday.• Conditions in prisons have improved dramatically in the last 20 years.• Susie's improving gradually with this new treatment.• By managing natural resources more effectively, our quality of human life could be improved greatly.• The goal of donor led initiatives should be to improve health care, not to increase private provision.• The only way Marana can improve its image is to improve the way it does business.• I wanted to improve my French, so I got a job in Paris.• The funds will go towards improving road and rail services.• It is librarians and information scientists who can best improve the latter situation.• In some cases, the temporary help company will train employees to improve their skills.• My health finally began to improve when I changed to a less stressful job.• Some wines improve with age.improve with age• After all, quality improves with age!• Like good wines, data improve with age.• Provided the colours look attractive when the rug is purchased, the overwhelming probability is that they will only improve with age.• The speech was all too unexciting, having travelled the country for the past year, and not noticeably improving with age.• Today's buyer can be assured that the colours, whether from natural or synthetic dyes, will only improve with age.• Whatever the weather, Keymers stay in place looking good, improving with age.• Patchouli is unusual in that it actually improves with age, and a twenty-year-old oil will be extremely mellow and fragrant.From Longman Business Dictionaryimproveim‧prove /ɪmˈpruːv/ verb1[intransitive, transitive]FINANCE if shares, prices etc improve by a particular amount, they rise by that amountJaguar improved 21p, closing at 665p.improve byHungary’s dollar current account improved by a remarkable 5% of GDP.2[transitive] to make something betterThe marketing team will need toimprove communication with the suppliers.3[intransitive] to become betterBusiness started to improve again in January. → improve on/upon something→ See Verb tableOrigin improve (1500-1600) emprowe “to improve” ((15-16 centuries)), from Anglo-French emprouer “to make a profit”, from Old French prou “advantage, profit”; probably influenced by approve 