development

American  

[dih-vel-uhp-muhnt] / dɪˈvɛl əp mənt /

noun

• developments
  plural

1. the act or process of developing; growth; progress.

   child development; economic development.

   Synonyms:

   maturation, opening, evolution, growth, elaboration, expansion

   Antonyms:

   disintegration, deterioration

2. a significant consequence or event.

   recent developments in the field of science.

3. a developed or advanced state or form.

   Drama reached its highest development in the plays of Shakespeare.

   Synonyms:

   ripeness, maturity

4. Music. the part of a movement or composition in which a theme or themes are developed, or unfolded and elaborated, by various technical means, so as to reveal their inherent possibilities.

5. a large group of private houses or of apartment houses, often of similar design, constructed as a unified community, especially by a real-estate developer or government organization.

   Synonyms:

   subdivision, community

6. Chess. the act or process of developing chess pieces.

7. Mining. the work of digging openings, as tunnels, raises, and winzes, to give access to new workings, and of erecting necessary structures.

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development British  

/ dɪˈvɛləpmənt /

noun

1. the act or process of growing, progressing, or developing

2. the product or result of developing

3. a fact, event, or happening, esp one that changes a situation

4. an area or tract of land that has been developed

5. Also called: development section.  the section of a movement, usually in sonata form, in which the basic musical themes are developed

6. chess

   1. the process of developing pieces

   2. the manner in which they are developed

   3. the position of the pieces in the early part of a game with reference to their attacking potential or defensive efficiency

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hyperdevelopment
  noun
• nondevelopment
  noun
• predevelopment
  noun
• self-development
  noun
• subdevelopment
  noun
• superdevelopment
  noun
• undevelopment
  noun
• antidevelopment
  adjective
• developmental
  adjective
• developmentary
  adjective
• hyperdevelopmental
  adjective
• nondevelopmental
  adjective
• postdevelopmental
  adjective
• undevelopmental
  adjective
• developmentally
  adverb
• nondevelopmentally
  adverb
• undevelopmentally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• developments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of development

First recorded in 1745–55; develop + -ment, or from French développement

Explanation

Development is the act of improving by expanding, enlarging, or refining. The merging of two university departments might lead to the development of a new curriculum. There are many other definitions for this noun, too. Real estate development is the conversion of land or property to a specific use, like housing or retail space. To grow up, we pass through many stages of development, from infancy to old age. Breaking news is often followed by developments, that is, recent events or information that's relevant to the story.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

development developments

At any given moment, Scott Free has upward of 40 projects in development, although Scott says some of those eventually dissipate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Fluminense were regarded as the best option for the youngster's development, who, like his father, began as a defensive midfielder before progressing further forward.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Concerns about cultural identity, political representation and economic development grew.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

The development is expected to roll out over the coming years, with SpaceX saying that it hopes to fly Starship from the property for the first time in 2029.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Brooklyn tried to mask her reaction to this development.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

What makes this tightrope even harder to navigate is that these legal developments don’t happen at the predictable cadence Americans might want from their election procedures.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

Saudi Arabia, a close US ally which has a history of tensions with Iran, is also closely watching developments in the Islamic republic in the wake of the US-Israeli war.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

Paramount declined to comment on the latest developments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Any developments in trade talks between China and the U.S will also draw attention ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Washington, D.C., in September.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Here, in the city, he could stay and monitor developments.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Related Words

• advancement
• evolution
• expansion
• improvement
• increase
• progress