development

American  

[dih-vel-uhp-muhnt] / dɪˈvɛl əp mənt /

noun

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

• antidevelopment adjective
• developmental adjective
• developmentally adverb
• developmentary adjective
• hyperdevelopment noun
• hyperdevelopmental adjective
• nondevelopment noun
• nondevelopmental adjective
• nondevelopmentally adverb
• postdevelopmental adjective
• predevelopment noun
• self-development noun
• subdevelopment noun
• superdevelopment noun
• undevelopment noun
• undevelopmental adjective
• undevelopmentally adverb

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

It fell short several areas and improvements are needed to expand professional teacher development, further limit class sizes and require health screenings, the report said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

"Vietnam welcomes South Korean companies to make new investments and expand existing projects, with a focus on the development of infrastructure, smart cities, semiconductors, AI data centres, nuclear power, smart seaports," the Vietnamese leader said.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

The hardware cost of a typical humanoid robot, excluding overhead and AI development costs, is estimated at $28,000 per unit by end-2026, if most components are made in China, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

We investigated how gut bacteria may contribute to the development of colorectal cancer.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2026

All of this represents just a small part of Boyle’s work, although it is the part that is most relevant to the story of the development of science in the seventeenth century.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

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