Refine this word faster
Development
//dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt// noun
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The process of developing; growth, directed change. uncountable
"The development of this story has been slow."
- 2 act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining wordnet
- 3 The process by which a mature multicellular organism or part of an organism is produced by the addition of new cells. uncountable
"The organism has reached a crucial stage in its development."
- 4 the act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful wordnet
- 5 Something which has developed. countable
"Our news team brings you the latest developments."
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 (music) the section of a composition or movement (especially in sonata form) where the major musical themes are developed and elaborated wordnet
- 7 A project consisting of one or more commercial or residential buildings. countable
- 8 a recent event that has some relevance for the present situation wordnet
- 9 The building of such a project. uncountable
- 10 a district that has been developed to serve some purpose wordnet
- 11 The application of new ideas to practical problems (cf. research). uncountable
"Our development department has produced three new adhesives this year."
- 12 processing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible wordnet
- 13 The active placement of the pieces, or the process of achieving it. uncountable
"White's development is good, but black's has been hampered by the pawn on e5."
- 14 a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage) wordnet
- 15 The process by in which previous material is transformed and restated. countable, uncountable
- 16 (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level wordnet
- 17 The second section of a piece of music in sonata form, in which the original theme is revisited in altered and varying form. countable, uncountable
- 18 a state in which things are improving; the result of developing (as in the early part of a game of chess) wordnet
- 19 The expression of a function in the form of a series. countable, uncountable
- 20 The processing of photographic film so as to bring out the images latent in it. countable, uncountable
"I sent the film to a specialist lab for development."
Etymology
From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756.
See also for "development"
Next best steps
Mini challenge
Unscramble this word: development