To Advance
To Move Forward, To Progress
intransitive verb, godan verb
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means advance so the verb vocab version means to advance.
進む is an intransitive verb, meaning it describes something or someone moving (む) forward. It can be used for physical movement, like a person walking forward or a clock running fast, or for abstract progress, like in someone's work or studies.
Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:
In order to advance, you must sue Sue (すす) for her misdeeds against you. Imagine her standing in your way, literally. She keeps saying, "You'll have to sue me if you want to move forward!" So you do — you sue Sue. That way, you can finally move on with your life.
もう少し前に進んで下さい。
Please move a little more forward.
プロジェクトは進んでますか？
Is the project moving forward?
アクセルをふんでるのに、なぜか車が進みません。
The car does not go forward for some reason, even though I'm stepping on the gas pedal.