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Synonyms

develop

American

[dih-vel-uhp] / dɪˈvɛl əp /

verb (used with object)

to bring out the capabilities or possibilities of; bring to a more advanced or effective state.

to develop natural resources; to develop one's musical talent.
to cause to grow or expand.

to develop one's muscles.
to elaborate or expand in detail.

to develop a theory.
to bring into being or activity; generate; evolve.
Drafting. to transfer the details of (a more or less two-dimensional design, pattern, or the like) from one surface, especially one that is prismatic or cylindrical, onto another, usually planar, in such a way that the distances between points remain the same.
Biology.
1. to cause to go through the process of natural evolution from a previous and lower stage.
2. to cause to progress from an embryonic to an adult form.
Mathematics. to express in an extended form, as in a series.
Music. to unfold, by various technical means, the inherent possibilities of (a theme).
Photography.
1. to render visible (the latent image on an exposed film or the like).
2. to treat (an exposed film or the like) with chemicals so as to render the latent image visible.
Chess. to bring (a piece) into effective play, especially during the initial phase of a game when pieces are moved from their original position on the board.

He developed his rook by castling.
Mining. to prepare (a new mine) for working by digging access openings and building necessary structures.

verb (used without object)

to grow into a more mature or advanced state; advance; expand.

She is developing into a good reporter.
to come gradually into existence or operation; be evolved.
to be disclosed; become evident or manifest.

The plot of the novel developed slowly.
to undergo developing, as a photographic film.
Biology.
1. to progress from an embryonic to an adult form.
2. to progress from earlier to later stages of ontogeny or phylogeny.
3. to reach sexual maturity.

develop British

/ dɪˈvɛləp /

verb

to come or bring to a later or more advanced or expanded stage; grow or cause to grow gradually
(tr) to elaborate or work out in detail
to disclose or unfold (thoughts, a plot, etc) gradually or (of thoughts, etc) to be gradually disclosed or unfolded
to come or bring into existence; generate or be generated

he developed a new faith in God
to follow as a result (of); ensue (from)

a row developed following the chairman's remarks
(tr) to contract (a disease or illness)
(tr) to improve the value or change the use of (land), as by building
(tr) to exploit or make available the natural resources of (a country or region)
(tr) photog
1. to treat (film, plate, or paper previously exposed to light, or the latent image in such material) with chemical solutions in order to produce a visible image
2. to process (photographic material) in order to produce negatives and prints
biology to progress or cause to progress from simple to complex stages in the growth of an individual or the evolution of a species
(tr) to elaborate upon (a musical theme) by varying the melody, key, etc
(tr) maths to expand (a function or expression) in the form of a series
(tr) geometry to project or roll out (a surface) onto a plane without stretching or shrinking any element
chess to bring (a piece) into play from its initial position on the back rank
obsolete (tr) to disclose or reveal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Present

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Etymology

Origin of develop

First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French développer, Old French desveloper, equivalent to des- dis- ¹ ( def. ) + voloper “to wrap up”; see envelop ( def. )

Explanation

When something develops, it grows. And if you develop something, you create it. Your cold might develop into a rare disease, and you might just develop the vaccine to stop its spread. Develop is a verb that means to build up, grow, or improve gradually over time. A developer is someone who develops land into shopping malls, schools, and skyscrapers. The process can take months, but eventually they will transform a pile of dirt into a building. Many years ago, people would develop photographs by dipping them into various chemicals. As the pictures developed, an image would gradually appear.

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Vocabulary lists containing develop

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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:

develop develops developed developing

“The effects of chemical exposure may develop slowly and may not become fully apparent for several months or even multiple growing seasons,” Gough said Friday at a news conference announcing the reward.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Even at that elevated rate, it would mean two per every 10,000 people taking the drug on average would develop the condition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

The Canadian programme involves a clever strategy of using England's domestic PWR league to develop its players.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

In April 2025, a study in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences examined mice engineered to develop features of Alzheimer's disease.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

As Turner states, the idea that the “performing arts” must always be performed onstage to be valid detracts from their use to develop and explore the emotional, cognitive, social development and human potential.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

As Mr. Preston’s clever plot develops, it becomes clear that Cold War secrets explain the murders and that present-day spymasters—British and Russian—are covering their tracks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The threat of catastrophic danger as artificial intelligence develops at high speed has sparked a global debate on how it should be regulated.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Many countries, including the UK, have sought to regulate AI through existing laws rather than legislate - amid concern it could quickly date as AI develops.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX develops the Grok AI model, weighed in on X as well, writing that Amodei was ”right.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026

At age forty, approximately one woman in a thousand develops breast cancer each year, whereas at age sixty the rate has risen to one in five hundred.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Sugar and has developed it further, increasing levels of the antibacterial peptide in treated trees by at least 100 times.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

“SB 954 was developed to ensure those same mistakes do not continue.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Cisco developed partnerships with hyperscalers to build systems for their data centers and started investing in optical technologies and chips.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

It has 62% of its money in U.S. stocks, another 28% in the stocks of developed markets in places like Europe and Japan, and 10% in emerging markets.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

In the mid-nineteenth century, for example, several people in a small Canadian village in New Brunswick developed leprosy.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Earlier research has suggested that anticoagulant treatment may lower the risk of developing dementia, but far less is known about whether these drugs influence cognitive decline after Alzheimer's disease has already been diagnosed.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

"It wasn't actually something we had in mind when we were developing the exhibition, or even when we asked the National Gallery if they would lend this painting," he explained.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

This week, AI insiders voiced concerns about how quickly the technology is developing, Lord Byron returned to London's Hyde Park, and a magazine borrowed from a US library was returned 132 years late.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Despite developing something like mutual affection, the men are opposites.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

In the 1970s, Goldman got involved with a group of mathematicians who were very interested in developing statistical rules for telling apart things like subatomic particles.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023