developments
- 1Plural of development.
Scientists reported several exciting developments in cancer research this year.
Political developments in the region worried investors.
Note
Only the countable meanings of development take this plural. Developments are things that have developed, such as new turns in research or politics, or building projects, commercial or residential. The process meanings stay uncountable: growth itself, an organism's maturing, the practical application of ideas. We speak of a child's development, not developments. For homes built as one project, see the housing-complex meaning.
- 2Groups of building complexes or apartment blocks, frequently built as housing for people with low incomes.
The city approved two large housing developments on the east side.
She grew up in one of the developments on the south side of town.
Similarprojects, estates, complexes
Note
This sense lives in the plural and works almost like the name of a place. People live in the developments, grow up in them and move out of them. A singular development can be any building project, but this plural leans toward low-income housing. So "the developments" can carry a social coloring that "a new development" does not, and careful writers keep that in mind.
developments is a form of development
development, noun: The process of growing or changing over time, especially toward a more advanced, complex, or mature form. Full entry
- Forms
- developmentdevelopments plural
- Spelling
- development → developments: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /s/.
Use it in a sentence
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