Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Process \Proc"ess\, n. [F. proc[`e]s, L. processus. See
   {Proceed}.]
   1. The act of proceeding; continued forward movement;
      procedure; progress; advance. ``Long process of time.''
      --Milton.

            The thoughts of men are widened with the process of
            the suns.                             --Tennyson.

Source : WordNet®

process
     n 1: a particular course of action intended to achieve a result;
          "the procedure of obtaining a driver's license"; "it was
          a process of trial and error" [syn: {procedure}]
     2: a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes
        through a series of states; "events now in process"; "the
        process of calcification begins later for boys than for
        girls"
     3: (psychology) the performance of some composite cognitive
        activity; an operation that affects mental contents; "the
        process of thinking"; "the cognitive operation of
        remembering" [syn: {cognitive process}, {mental process},
        {operation}, {cognitive operation}]
     4: a writ issued by authority of law; usually compels the
        defendant's attendance in a civil suit; failure to appear
        results in a default judgment against the defendant [syn:
        {summons}]
     5: a mental process that you are not directly aware of; "the
        process of denial" [syn: {unconscious process}]
     6: a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an
        organism either animal or plant; "a bony process" [syn: {outgrowth},
         {appendage}]

process
     v 1: deal with in a routine way; "I'll handle that one"; "process
          a loan"; "process the applicants"
     2: subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying
        for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition;
        "process cheese"; "process hair"; "treat the water so it
        can be drunk"; "treat the lawn with chemicals" ; "treat an
        oil spill" [syn: {treat}]
     3: perform mathematical and logical operations on (data)
        according to programmed instructions in order to obtain
        the required information; "The results of the elections
        were still being processed when he gave his acceptance
        speech"
     4: institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against;
        "He was warned that the district attorney would process
        him"; "She actioned the company for discrimination" [syn:
        {action}, {sue}, {litigate}]
     5: shape, form, or improve a material; "work stone into tools";
        "process iron"; "work the metal" [syn: {work}, {work on}]
     6: deliver a warrant or summons to someone; "He was processed
        by the sheriff" [syn: {serve}, {swear out}]
     7: march in a procession; "They processed into the dining room"
        [syn: {march}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

process
     
        1.  The sequence of states of an
        executing {program}.  A process consists of the program {code}
        (which may be shared with other processes which are executing
        the same program), private data, and the state of the
        {processor}, particularly the values in its {registers}.  It
        may have other associated resources such as a {process
        identifier}, open files, {CPU time} limits, {shared memory},
        {child processes}, and {signal handlers}.
     
        One process may, on some {platforms}, consist of many
        {threads}.  A {multitasking} {operating system} can run
        multiple processes {concurrently} or in {parallel}, and allows
        a process to spawn "child" processes.
     
        (2001-06-16)
     
        2.  The sequence of activities, people, and systems
        involved in carrying out some business or achieving some
        desired result.  E.g. software development process, project
        management process, configuration management process.
     
        (2001-06-16)