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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

Greggs said it launched a consultation and work with trade unions and employee representatives to refine and develop its plans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Google said Argon is designed to refuse requests that could help carry out cyberattacks or develop chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

On Earth, carbonates commonly develop in shallow lakes and oceans, including environments that can support life.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

After Boeing was chosen in March of last year to develop the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

A political utopia would develop as a consequence of genetic utopia.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

However, those associations have generally been modest, and scientists have not been sure whether biased attention contributes to depression or develops because of it.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026

The boost in temperatures will come as a strong southerly airflow develops into Tuesday.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

ON Semiconductor recently acquired Synaptics, which develops chip products as well as “physical AI” technology like touch displays for cars and smartphones.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Portal Space Systems, which develops maneuverable spacecraft for military and other applications, decided to guarantee it could get to orbit in 2028 by purchasing a dedicated Falcon 9 flight—something that wasn’t in its initial plans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

There the Sun heats it, the ice is vaporized, and a lovely cometary tail develops.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

France however this year decided to move away from using Palantir's software in their intelligence agencies, replacing it with software developed by French company ChapsVision.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Wynonna said that she and Ashley were dysfunctional, didn’t agree on anything and developed separate lives, but she cared for her younger sister growing up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Instead, King wanted to know how the more experienced climber of the group, Conrad Anker, developed the discipline to call off a failed attempt just 300 feet below the summit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

She said it was 12 weeks and six days before he was diagnosed in May, by which point it had developed to the more severe crusted scabies.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

In the U.S., unique genres of music that are part of our cultural fabric have developed over the centuries.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Rooplal died days after developing a fever and rash.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Despite all the public discourse around loneliness and the need to connect, the cold call violates some of the communication norms we’ve spent decades developing.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

“The hardest thing ever was, for me, getting me away from the tools and the customer interactions because I really enjoy that. My newfound love is actually developing people and marketing,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

Mazzini and Nathan Shunk, a third-year Ph.D. student, recently published a study defining "vertical marine heatwaves" and developing a classification system for them in the Bay.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Most of my friends preferred not to think about the problems in developing countries, or if they did, they sent money.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

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