development
Americannoun
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developments
plural
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the act or process of developing; growth; progress.
child development; economic development.
- Synonyms:
- maturation, opening, evolution, growth, elaboration, expansion
- Antonyms:
- disintegration, deterioration
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a significant consequence or event.
recent developments in the field of science.
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a developed or advanced state or form.
Drama reached its highest development in the plays of Shakespeare.
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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.
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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
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Chess. the act or process of developing chess pieces.
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Mining. the work of digging openings, as tunnels, raises, and winzes, to give access to new workings, and of erecting necessary structures.
noun
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the act or process of growing, progressing, or developing
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the product or result of developing
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a fact, event, or happening, esp one that changes a situation
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an area or tract of land that has been developed
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Also called: development section. the section of a movement, usually in sonata form, in which the basic musical themes are developed
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chess
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the process of developing pieces
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the manner in which they are developed
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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
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hyperdevelopmentnoun
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nondevelopmentnoun
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predevelopmentnoun
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self-developmentnoun
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subdevelopmentnoun
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superdevelopmentnoun
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undevelopmentnoun
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antidevelopmentadjective
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developmentaladjective
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developmentaryadjective
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hyperdevelopmentaladjective
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nondevelopmentaladjective
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postdevelopmentaladjective
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undevelopmentaladjective
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developmentallyadverb
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nondevelopmentallyadverb
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undevelopmentallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing development
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 6
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 4
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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.
See Examples For:
Prior to his spell in charge of Maritimo, the 38-year-old spent five years working under Jurgen Klopp as an elite development coach at Liverpool, before joining Red Bull Salzburg as Pep Lijnders' number two.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
"This is not merely a matter of borrowing money; it is about shaping the very structure and direction of the nation's development."
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Microsoft must demonstrate that Maia’s savings survive the costs of development, deployment and adapting software to run on it.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Mr. Gorra is at his most engaging when he backs away from definitions of tale, story, novella and so on, which appeal mainly to specialists, and brings in social context and literary development.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
An experimental study of the effects of improvisation on the development of children’s creative thinking in music.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
L.A. has long suffered an identity crisis, caught between the single-family homes of its past and the multifamily developments that density advocates say are needed for its future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Faced with the great developments of world history,” Weirich wrote in 1925, “the individual is powerless.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
At a time when housing developments are often judged by their cost and number of homes they can deliver, the project was recognised for the way it responds to its surroundings.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
After congratulating the crew on completing thousands of combat missions with “zero casualties, zero flight mishaps, and zero working toilets,” Jost’s Hegseth offered an update on developments back home.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
The Abbot suggested they all go inside the Abbey and await further developments.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
