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I read this sentence in the book Revolution 2020:

We proceeded to Mughal Sarai to meet a retired chemical professor.

In this sentence, it seems like proceeded means "went", but I'm not sure. When I looked up the word in a dictionary, there were several meanings listed. Cambridge, for example, lists three:

  • to continue as planned : His lawyers have decided not to proceed with the case.
  • to do something after you have done something else : She sat down and proceeded to tell me about her skiing holiday.
  • formal to move forward or travel in a particular direction : Passengers for Madrid should proceed to gate 26 for boarding.

The closest meaning seems to be the third one, but the author of the book isn't using this in a formal context, so I'm wondering if my assumptions are right.

Is this correct? Can proceeded be used to mean "went", even outside of a formal setting?

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    basic questions about 'meaning' of the words are off topic. Saravanan. You may check any dictionary and find the word's meaning in that context.
    – Maulik V
    Jul 4, 2014 at 7:30
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    I've reopened the question after providing the requisite research. Let this be an example when asking about the meaning of words. It's OK to ask about the meaning of a word once you've tried to figure it out yourself; however, you need to include your research, meaning share what you found, and explain why you're still confused. Such questions are welcomed here; however, if you omit that information, everyone will naturally assume you didn't bother to look it up, and you should have consulted a dictionary, not asked a new ELL question.
    – J.R. ♦
    Jul 4, 2014 at 10:09
  • Thanks J.R for your kind advice. i will keep your suggetion hereafter.
    – saravanan
    Jul 4, 2014 at 18:16

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First, it is spelled as "Proceed" and the past tense is "Proceeded" which means "to go on" or "to continue".

As Collins says:

proceed (v.) to advance or carry on, esp after stopping

So, in the sentence you quote:

We procedded to Mughal Sarai to meet a retired chemical professor

it sounds like a group of people are on some kind of journey or adventure, and the next step of the trek was to travel to Mughal Sarai.

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    Since I've improved the question, I may as well improve this answer, which had already been flagged and downvoted. Answers should carry some measure of authority. A sentence like: "Proceed" means "to go on" or "to continue" reads more like an opinion; it's best to elaborate a little bit. Questions about word meaning often include excerpts from online dictionaries, to substantiate and/or explain the word's meaning.
    – J.R. ♦
    Jul 4, 2014 at 10:33

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