development
Pluraldevelopments (some meanings)
- 1The process of growing or changing over time, especially toward a more advanced, complex, or mature form.
The development of language in young children fascinates researchers.
Economic development across the region accelerated after the new policy.
UsageOften followed by of: the development of language, the development of a child's brain.
Note
Growth is pictured as unfolding what was already wrapped inside, which is why the word suits stories, children and economies alike. English has used it since 1756.
- 2The application of new ideas and knowledge to solve practical problems, as distinct from basic research.
The firm's development team turned the lab findings into a working device.
Years of development brought the prototype to market.
UsageOften in research and development, and before another noun: a development team, development costs.
Note
Industry pairs this sense with research and tells the two apart: research seeks new knowledge, while development puts knowledge to use in something that works, such as an adhesive, a device or a product ready for market.
- 3An event or change that comes about as the result of an ongoing process or situation.
A surprising development forced the team to rethink their strategy.
Investigators welcomed the latest developments in the case.
UsageOften plural, with in: the latest developments in the case, a new development.
Similarevent, change, turn, occurrence
- 4The building of houses, offices or other structures on an area of land, or a group of new buildings put up in this way.
The new waterfront development will include shops, offices, and apartments.
Several large developments transformed the city's skyline.
UsageFor the place, a housing development; for the building work, usually the development of a site.
Note
Real estate makes the word concrete: a development is the project itself, one building or a cluster of shops, apartments or offices planned as one, usually by a developer for sale or lease.
Less common meanings
- 5The chemical processing of photographic film to bring out the images hidden within it.
Film development requires precise control of temperature and timing.
He ruined the photos by rushing the development.
Similarprocessing
Note
A photographer's word for the chemistry that makes a latent image visible: in conventional black-and-white processing, exposed film or paper typically passes through developer, then a stop bath, then fixer. Temperature and timing matter at every step. The noun often travels with the film itself, sent to a lab for development, and the solution that does the central work is called the developer.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Development makes a latent photographic image visible. en.wikipedia.org
- This describes a typical conventional black-and-white process, not photographic processing generally. Colour processes include bleaching, and a separate stop bath is not universal. en.wikipedia.org
- Processing temperature and timing matter. ilfordphoto.com
- The solution that makes the latent image visible is called the developer. en.wikipedia.org
- 6In chess, the active placement of pieces, or the process of bringing them into effective positions.
White gained a clear lead in development by the tenth move.
Neglecting development early often leads to a cramped position.
Note
Chess players use it for getting pieces off their starting squares and into play during the opening. It belongs to a side and can be compared: White's development is good while Black's is hampered by a pawn on e5, and one player can hold a lead in development. Neglecting it early tends to leave a cramped position.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Development involves bringing pieces from their starting squares into effective positions during the opening. en.wikipedia.org
- Neglecting development can leave a cramped position. new.uschess.org
- 7In music, the working out and transforming of themes heard earlier, especially in the middle section of a movement in sonata form.
The development reworks the first theme through a series of distant keys.
Her string quartet shows real skill in thematic development, building a whole movement from a four-note figure.
Note
Sonata form has three main parts, and this is the middle one, between the exposition that states the themes and the recapitulation that brings them back. Here the themes are broken up, transposed and recombined, often through distant keys. Musicians usually say the development or the development section, with the article, as the name of a place in the movement.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- Sonata form has three main sections, with development between exposition and recapitulation. open.lib.umn.edu
- The exposition presents themes and the recapitulation brings them back. chambermusicsociety.org
- Development involves breaking up and recombining thematic material. chambermusicsociety.org
- Themes can be transposed during the development. myweb.fsu.edu
- Development can take thematic material through distant keys. en.wikipedia.org
- 8In mathematics, the expression of a function as a series.
Practice
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Origin
First attested in 1756, it comes from French développement, which goes back to Old French desvelopemens meaning "unrolling." On the surface it is develop plus the suffix -ment.