improvement over the prior art

improvement Noun

— An improvement makes something better; it improves something. The improvement of this entry was well done. — Improvement is the state of being improved or bettered. — An improvement is an increase, advance, or growth.

over Preposition

— Something is over when it has finished, usually referring to an event. When the movie was over we left the movie theater. — In a location above something. He stepped over the dog. — From one side to the other. They went over the bridge. — If you invite someone over, you invite them to your house. They had him over for tea. — A number divided by another. Eight over two is four.

over Noun

— An over in a cricket match is six balls bowled from one end. The captain told me I would have to bowl the next over.

the Determiner

— Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist. Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book." — Used with a stress, to show that the word following is special. Are you the John Smith that I went to school with? — Used with an adjective that acts like a noun to mean all of the people concerned The poor are always with us. — Used with superlatives forms of adjectives and adverbs. You are the best.

prior Preposition

— If something happens prior to something else, it happens before it. In this recipe, most of the work is actually done prior to cooking. Prior to 1917 most people had lived on private farms.

prior Adjective

— occurring before We learned that police had had prior knowledge of the attack. Few of these workers have any substantial prior experience in industry.

art Noun

— (uncountable: there is no plural) Any man-made object which is either beautiful or makes the viewer think. Common examples of art are paintings and photographs. The gallery has many pieces of art. — A creation or study of pieces of art. Painting, music and writing are arts. — An action which is done very well; a skill She has making baskets down to an art.