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

A doctor involved in the development of Scotland's super-hospital has claimed his concerns over patient safety were repeatedly ignored.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Both sides hash it out at meetings of the fiscal court of Mason County, the primary government body overseeing the development.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The development of the spacecraft's landing legs was particularly difficult as gravity on Phobos is extremely low, according to Akinari Uehara, a Mitsubishi Electric engineer.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

The findings could influence the development of therapies designed to raise or lower specific metabolites.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

For the student, music not only strengthens emotional and cognitive development, but also allows a new outlet of expression, and a new means of learning through listening and making sound.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

The i Paper says new housing developments near train stations are set to be fast-tracked in a major expansion of commuter villages and towns.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Those developments have unleashed concerns in this Rhine River city, where Opel was once the mighty engine of prosperity.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

“Especially in new developments, you have all these surprises, because everything is brand new,” Miklos Ringbauer, founder of MiklosCPA, a Southern California-based accounting and tax advisory company, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

"We're also clear that unauthorised developments are completely unacceptable, and we've given councils like Basildon strong powers to tackle these including working closely with the police and taking court action."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

One year made momentous not only by the number of vital and transformative events and developments that took place, but by the fact that almost all of them were inexorably connected.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

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