developer

American  

[dih-vel-uh-per] / dɪˈvɛl ə pər /

noun

1. a person or thing that develops or innovates.

   a software developer.

2. Photography. a reducing agent or solution for developing a film or the like.

3. a person who invests in and develops the urban or suburban potentialities of real estate, especially by subdividing the land into home sites and then building houses and selling them.

4. Shipbuilding. a person who lays out at full size the lines of a vessel and prepares templates from them.

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developer British  

/ dɪˈvɛləpə /

noun

1. a person or thing that develops something, esp a person who develops property

2. photog a solution of a chemical reducing agent that converts the latent image recorded in the emulsion of a film or paper into a visible image

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Etymology

Origin of developer

First recorded in 1825–35; develop + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Thanks to a new design and financing approach—and a real-estate developer in the White House—a plan is on track.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026

The Shanghai-based web developer says he finds the weekly calls with his parents stressful.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

In December of 2023, the supervisors selected Centennial Partners, a team made up of Primestor Development and Bayspring Real Estate Partners, as the master developer.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

“The cost per token on Fable 5… can very quickly consume relatively large developer budgets,” wrote New Street Research analyst Dan Salmon in a research note.

From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026

A private developer wanted to build the new units on a twenty-two-acre site on Bacon Street in the middle-class section of Hayti.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• builder
• planner