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 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

“Together, consumer adoption, enterprise deployment, developer usage and compute form a reinforcing flywheel that is translating capability into economic impact.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

Before he became president, he spent decades working as a real-estate developer in New York.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Creating roosting areas for displaced bats is a statutory requirement and the costs are predominantly being met from central government funding and developer contributions.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer, who ended up making the runoff election against Bass, received 6% support.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

When we’re past Broadway, Papi sighs for the umpteenth time and says, “Colin’s selling the building. A developer offered him a lot of money.”

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

Related Words

• builder
• planner