| n. | 1. | The act of improving; advancement or growth; promotion in desirable qualities; progress toward what is better; melioration; |
| 2. | The act of making profitable use or applicaton of anything, or the state of being profitably employed; a turning to good account; practical application, as of a doctrine, principle, or theory, stated in a discourse. | |
| 3. | The state of being improved; betterment; advance; also, that which is improved; | |
| 4. | Increase; growth; progress; advance. | |
| 5. | Valuable additions or betterments, as buildings, clearings, drains, fences, etc., on land or premises; | |
| 6. | (Patent Laws) A useful addition to, or modification of, a machine, manufacture, or composition. |
| Noun | 1. | improvement - the act of improving something; "their improvements increased the value of the property" |
| 2. | improvement - a change for the better; progress in development Synonyms: betterment, advance | |
| 3. | improvement - a condition superior to an earlier condition; "the new school represents a great improvement" Synonyms: melioration Antonyms: declination, decline - a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state |
IMPROVEMENT, estates. This term is of doubtful meaning It would seem to
apply principally to buildings, though generally it extends to amelioration
of every description of property, whether real or personal; it is generally
explained by other words.
2. Where, by the terms of a lease, the covenant was to leave at the end
of the term a water-mill with all the fixtures, fastenings, and
improvements, during the demise fixed, fastened, or set up on or upon the
premises, in good plight and condition, it was held to include a pair of new
millstones set up by the lessee during the term, although the custom of the
country in general authorized the tenant to remove them. 9 Bing. 24; 3 Sim.
450; 2 Ves. & Bea. 349. Vide 3 Yeates, 71; Addis. R. 335; 4 Binn. R. 418; 5
Binn. R. 77; 5 S. & R. 266; 1 Binn. R. 495; 1 John. Ch. R. 450; 15 Pick. R.
471. Vide Profits. 2 Man. & Gra. 729, 757; S. C. 40 Eng. C. L. R. 598, 612.
3. Tenants in common are not bound to pay for permanent improvements,
made on the common property, by one of the tenants in common without their
consent. 2 Bouv. Inst. n. 1881.
IMPROVEMENT, rights. An addition of some useful thing to a machine,
manufacture or composition of matter.
2. The patent law of July 4, 1836, authorizes the granting of a patent
for any new and useful improvement on any art, machine manufacture or
composition of matter. Sect. 6. It is often very difficult to say what is a
new and useful improvement, the cases often approach very near to each
other. In the present improved state of machinery, it is almost
impracticable not to employ the same elements of motion, and in some
particulars, the same manner of operation, to produce any new effect. 1
Gallis. 478; 2 Gallis. 51. See 4 B. & Ald. 540; 2 Kent, Com. 370.