developing country

American  

noun

• developing countries
  plural

1. a country having a standard of living or level of industrial production well below that possible with financial or technical aid; a country that is not yet highly industrialized.

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developing country British  

noun

1. a nonindustrialized poor country that is seeking to develop its resources by industrialization

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• developing countries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of developing country

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

developing country

The stocks powering them are neither dowdy bargains nor typical of a developing country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

"And yet they still have the pretence of being a developing country in the WTO and in the World Bank, and they could suspend that," Malpass added.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

The Seattle-based waste service is geared toward people who worry their waste will end up in the landfill, or get exported to a developing country in Asia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026

It is the largest yet and the first in a developing country, with India taking the opportunity to push its ambitions to catch up with the United States and China.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026

From that time to the present, the American Episcopate has increased greatly by reason of the growing needs of the Church in this rapidly developing country.

From The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia by William James Miller