progressive enhancement

noun

A philosophy in which a website's functionality is enhanced by JavaScript, rather than wholly reliant on JavaScript.

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Meanings

nounprogressive enhancement (uncountable)
  1. uncountableweb developmentA philosophy in which a website's functionality is enhanced by JavaScript, rather than wholly reliant on JavaScript.

    Over the past few years, progressive enhancement has been quietly adopted by some of the biggest and best sites on the web, precisely because it allows them to reach the widest possible audience.

    2010, Todd Parker, Scott Jehl, Maggie Costello Wachs, Patty Toland, Designing with Progressive Enhancement: Building the Web that Works for Everyone, Pearson Education, →ISBN
Cite this entry
APA

progressive enhancement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/progressive%20enhancement

MLA

“progressive enhancement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/progressive%20enhancement. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “progressive enhancement,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/progressive%20enhancement.

Source: progressive enhancement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.