The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Advance \Ad*vance"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Advanced; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Advancing(#).] [OE. avancen, avauncen, F. avancer,
   fr. a supposed LL. abantiare; ab + ante (F. avant) before.
   The spelling with d was a mistake, a- being supposed to be
   fr. L. ad. See Avaunt.]
   1. To bring forward; to move towards the van or front; to
      make to go on.
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   2. To raise; to elevate. [Archaic]
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            They . . . advanced their eyelids.    --Shak.
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   3. To raise to a higher rank; to promote.
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            Ahasueres . . . advanced him, and set his seat above
            all the princes.                      --Esther iii.
                                                  1.
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   4. To accelerate the growth or progress; to further; to
      forward; to help on; to aid; to heighten; as, to advance
      the ripening of fruit; to advance one's interests.
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   5. To bring to view or notice; to offer or propose; to show;
      as, to advance an argument.
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            Some ne'er advance a judgment of their own. --Pope.
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   6. To make earlier, as an event or date; to hasten.
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   7. To furnish, as money or other value, before it becomes
      due, or in aid of an enterprise; to supply beforehand; as,
      a merchant advances money on a contract or on goods
      consigned to him.
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   8. To raise to a higher point; to enhance; to raise in rate;
      as, to advance the price of goods.
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   9. To extol; to laud. [Obs.]
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            Greatly advancing his gay chivalry.   --Spenser.
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   Syn: To raise; elevate; exalt; aggrandize; improve; heighten;
        accelerate; allege; adduce; assign.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Advance \Ad*vance"\, v. i.
   1. To move or go forward; to proceed; as, he advanced to
      greet me.
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   2. To increase or make progress in any respect; as, to
      advance in knowledge, in stature, in years, in price.
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   3. To rise in rank, office, or consequence; to be preferred
      or promoted.
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            Advanced to a level with ancient peers. --Prescott.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Advance \Ad*vance"\, a.
   Before in place, or beforehand in time; -- used for advanced;
   as, an advance guard, or that before the main guard or body
   of an army; advance payment, or that made before it is due;
   advance proofs, advance sheets, pages of a forthcoming
   volume, received in advance of the time of publication.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Advance \Ad*vance"\, n. [Cf. F. avance, fr. avancer. See
   Advance, v.]
   1. The act of advancing or moving forward or upward;
      progress.
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   2. Improvement or progression, physically, mentally, morally,
      or socially; as, an advance in health, knowledge, or
      religion; an advance in rank or office.
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   3. An addition to the price; rise in price or value; as, an
      advance on the prime cost of goods.
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   4. The first step towards the attainment of a result;
      approach made to gain favor, to form an acquaintance, to
      adjust a difference, etc.; an overture; a tender; an
      offer; -- usually in the plural.
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            [He] made the like advances to the dissenters.
                                                  --Swift.
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   5. A furnishing of something before an equivalent is received
      (as money or goods), towards a capital or stock, or on
      loan; payment beforehand; the money or goods thus
      furnished; money or value supplied beforehand.
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            I shall, with pleasure, make the necessary advances.
                                                  --Jay.
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            The account was made up with intent to show what
            advances had been made.               --Kent.
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   In advance
      (a) In front; before.
      (b) Beforehand; before an equivalent is received.
      (c) In the state of having advanced money on account; as,
          A is in advance to B a thousand dollars or pounds.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

advance
    adj 1: being ahead of time or need; "gave advance warning"; "was
           beforehand with her report" [syn: advance(a),
           beforehand(p)]
    2: situated ahead or going before; "an advance party"; "at that
       time the most advanced outpost was still east of the Rockies"
       [syn: advance(a), advanced(a), in advance(p)]
    n 1: a movement forward; "he listened for the progress of the
         troops" [syn: progress, progression, advance]
    2: a change for the better; progress in development [syn:
       improvement, betterment, advance]
    3: a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of
       others; "she rejected his advances" [syn: overture,
       advance, approach, feeler]
    4: the act of moving forward (as toward a goal) [syn:
       progress, progression, procession, advance,
       advancement, forward motion, onward motion] [ant:
       retreat]
    5: an amount paid before it is earned [syn: advance, cash
       advance]
    6: increase in price or value; "the news caused a general
       advance on the stock market" [syn: advance, rise]
    v 1: move forward, also in the metaphorical sense; "Time marches
         on" [syn: advance, progress, pass on, move on,
         march on, go on] [ant: draw back, move back, pull
         away, pull back, recede, retire, retreat,
         withdraw]
    2: bring forward for consideration or acceptance; "advance an
       argument" [syn: advance, throw out]
    3: increase or raise; "boost the voltage in an electrical
       circuit" [syn: boost, advance, supercharge]
    4: contribute to the progress or growth of; "I am promoting the
       use of computers in the classroom" [syn: promote,
       advance, boost, further, encourage]
    5: cause to move forward; "Can you move the car seat forward?"
       [syn: advance, bring forward] [ant: back]
    6: obtain advantages, such as points, etc.; "The home team was
       gaining ground"; "After defeating the Knicks, the Blazers
       pulled ahead of the Lakers in the battle for the number-one
       playoff berth in the Western Conference" [syn: gain,
       advance, win, pull ahead, make headway, get ahead,
       gain ground] [ant: drop off, fall back, fall behind,
       lose, recede]
    7: develop in a positive way; "He progressed well in school";
       "My plants are coming along"; "Plans are shaping up" [syn:
       progress, come on, come along, advance, get on,
       get along, shape up] [ant: regress, retrograde,
       retrogress]
    8: develop further; "We are advancing technology every day"
    9: give a promotion to or assign to a higher position; "John was
       kicked upstairs when a replacement was hired"; "Women tend
       not to advance in the major law firms"; "I got promoted after
       many years of hard work" [syn: promote, upgrade,
       advance, kick upstairs, raise, elevate] [ant:
       break, bump, demote, kick downstairs, relegate]
    10: pay in advance; "Can you advance me some money?"
    11: move forward; "we have to advance clocks and watches when we
        travel eastward" [syn: advance, set ahead]
    12: rise in rate or price; "The stock market gained 24 points
        today" [syn: advance, gain]