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

Real estate developer and former gubernatorial candidate Stephen Cloobeck, who exited the race in November, was arrested in Los Angeles County on Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

Battery-tech developer Cellforce Group, e-bike electric drive systems developer Porsche eBike Performance and Cetitec, a company that produces specialized software for data communications, are all being shut down.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, a property developer, made headlines in 1999 when he and his partner at the time, Tony, became known as Britain's first gay fathers, having become parents through a surrogate mother.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

Pushing back against fears of job losses driven by automation, Microsoft argued in the report that AI coding tools "could increase demand for developer jobs."

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

Izzy, meanwhile, was at Mia’s in the darkroom, watching her pull a new print from the developer and hang it to dry.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Related Words

• builder
• planner