evolve
Americanverb (used with object)
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evolves,
present (3rd person singular)
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evolved,
past participle, past
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evolving
present participle
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to develop gradually.
to evolve a scheme.
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to give off or emit, as odors or vapors.
verb (used without object)
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evolves,
present (3rd person singular)
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evolved,
past participle, past
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evolving
present participle
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to come forth gradually into being; develop; undergo evolution.
The whole idea evolved from a casual remark.
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to gradually change one's opinions or beliefs.
candidates who are still evolving on the issue;
an evolved feminist mom.
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Biology. to develop by a process of evolution to a different adaptive state or condition.
The human species evolved from an ancestor that was probably arboreal.
verb
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to develop or cause to develop gradually
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(intr) (of animal or plant species) to undergo evolution
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(tr) to yield, emit, or give off (heat, gas, vapour, etc)
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To undergo biological evolution, as in the development of new species or new traits within a species.
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To develop a characteristic through the process of evolution.
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To undergo change and development, as the structures of the universe.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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evolvementnoun
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evolvernoun
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evolvableadjective
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nonevolvingadjective
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self-evolvedadjective
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self-evolvingadjective
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unevolvedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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evolvesimple
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evolvessimple
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have evolvedperfect
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has evolvedperfect
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am evolvingprogressive
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are evolvingprogressive
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is evolvingprogressive
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have been evolvingperfect progressive
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has been evolvingperfect progressive
Past
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evolvedsimple
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had evolvedperfect
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was evolvingprogressive
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were evolvingprogressive
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had been evolvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of evolve
First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin ēvolvere “to unroll, open, unfold,” equivalent to ē- e- 1 + volvere “to roll, turn”
Explanation
When something evolves, it changes, or develops over time, like your taste in music and clothes, which evolve as you get older. Evolve comes from the Latin word evolvere, "to unroll" — the perfect image to keep in mind when thinking of this verb. When something is unrolling or unraveling, it is doing so gradually, not all at once. Evolve describes a development that is taking its time to reach its final destination. Think change with a speed limit. Your taste in music evolved from the nursery rhymes you loved as a little kid to whatever you like today. Even places can evolve, like the old-fashioned coffee shops that evolved into Internet cafés as people began to bring their laptops with them.
Vocabulary lists containing evolve
ACT Vocabulary List
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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50 Great Words from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
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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:
“I really want to improve my skating, and I wanted to take the time to do that for myself and just to evolve, and then I’ll be back after that is done,” Liu said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
"Artists already use AI tools in their work, the charts can and should evolve to keep room for that, but music generated wholesale by services built on artists' recordings is a different matter."
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
“Since the start of the year, global trade and regulatory landscapes have continued to evolve, creating significant challenges while also presenting new opportunities,” CEO Lei Chen said in a statement.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Those structural differences can help explain why not all rpTDEs evolve in the same way.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
For example, why did no traditional hunters-gatherers evolve or adopt writing?
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Culture evolves, she says, and practices can be diluted or corrupted and she is showing what has happened to this one.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Capturing those voices was essential, because as the scheme evolves, more everyday Americans are being pulled into its orbit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
He thinks Doximity is in a strong position “as AI clinical evidence usage evolves from a bottoms-up, personal, physician-by-physician usage to a top-down, health system mandated tool usage strategy.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Any theory involving a hidden attractive force may need to account for the possibility that dark matter becomes effectively lighter as the Universe evolves.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
Among the slipperiest of all is AIDS, which evolves new antigens even as it sits within an individual patient, thereby eventually overwhelming his or her immune system.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The explanation for the calamity has evolved since it struck, but appears linked to a collapsing glacier.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Instead, researchers want to make artificial light more biologically complete by bringing its spectrum closer to the natural light humans evolved under.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
The greatest contemporary challenge, Mr. Lieberman argues, lies in addressing an industrial food system that has evolved over centuries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
"We evolved outside in the full-spectrum light provided by our sun," Lang says.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Created in the nineteenth century as a volunteer citizen militia to fight American Indians on the frontier and, later, Mexicans along the border, the Rangers had evolved into a kind of state police force.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
“Puerto Rico is still an evolving organism. It’s a country, a people and a culture still evolving,” Carretero explains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
How do you define the “Neo” sound today, and how do you think it’s evolving?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Central bank chief Safwat Raslan lauded the development, adding that his institution was "working to build a modern and reliable financial system capable of evolving with developments and taking advantage of all opportunities."
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
The gallery, which has remained hidden from view since 1943, will reopen from 16 September, featuring 50 objects which show our evolving relationship with the natural world.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
At the time, sensory deprivation testing was still evolving.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
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.
