developing
Americanadjective
-
undergoing development; growing; evolving.
-
(of a nation or geographical area) having a standard of living or level of industrial production well below that possible with financial or technical aid; not yet highly industrialized.
the developing world.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of developing
Explanation
Use the adjective developing to describe a country that's relatively poor and has a lower standard of living than most other countries in the world. There's not a specific standard for calling a country developing, but there are some societies that most of the world agrees are less industrialized than most. Developing countries generally have poorer people and a less vibrant economy than more developed countries. Some countries object to being called developing, since it implies that all countries want to become "developed," or more Western in their economy and government, which is not necessarily true.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By Monday there could be some big thunderstorms developing across England and Wales.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026
Major customers like Microsoft and Meta are increasingly developing in-house chips, spreading AI spending beyond Nvidia.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
The company is developing treatments for chronic pain, working on compounds aimed at offering meaningful pain relief while avoiding the central nervous system effects that come with many existing therapeutics, it says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
"You can catch things as they're developing, rather than only studying them once they're already there and pretty stable."
From Science Daily • Jun. 17, 2026
I think, Kitty, that true love may be developing in the Annex.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
