# evolve

Pronunciation: say "ee-VOLV" US /ɪˈvɑlv/, UK /ɪˈvɒlv/

## Verb

1. To change or transform, typically through a gradual process over time.
   - Simple: To slowly change into something different over time.
   - _The company's strategy evolved as the market shifted._
   - _Ideas evolve when people debate them openly._
2. To change or transform something into a new or different form.
   - Simple: To slowly change something into a different form.
   - _The team gradually evolved the prototype into a finished product._
   - _Engineers evolve the design through repeated testing._
3. Of a trait or feature, to come about and become established in a population through gradual inherited change over generations.
   - Simple: To slowly develop in a group of living things over many generations.
   - _Camouflage evolved independently in many unrelated species._
   - _Traits that improve survival tend to evolve over many generations._
4. Of a population or species, to come to have a trait through gradual inherited change over many generations.
   - Simple: When a group of living things slowly gains a new feature over many generations.
   - _Many desert plants have evolved thick, water-storing leaves._
   - _Cave-dwelling species often evolve reduced eyesight._
5. To bring something into being or cause it to develop gradually.
   - Simple: To slowly create something or help it grow into being.
   - _Over years of practice, she evolved a unique painting style._
   - _Researchers evolve new theories from careful observation._
6. To cause a population or species to change its genetic composition over successive generations through evolution.
   - Simple: To make a group of living things change over many generations.
   - _Geographic isolation evolved the finches into several specialized forms._
   - _Strong selection pressures can evolve a population within a few generations._
7. To move through a system in a regular, ordered procession.
   - Simple: To move forward through a system in a steady, orderly way.
   - _Messages evolve through the relay stations in a fixed, repeating sequence._
   - _The procession evolved slowly through the cathedral nave._
8. To move something through a system in a regular, ordered procession.
   - Simple: To move something through a system in a steady, orderly way.
   - _The control system evolves each request through its processing stages._
   - _Engineers evolve the samples through a fixed sequence of chambers._
9. Of a chemical reaction or substance, to produce and release a gas such as oxygen or carbon dioxide.
   - Simple: To give off a gas during a chemical reaction.
   - _The reaction evolved carbon dioxide as the carbonate dissolved._
   - _Many metals evolve hydrogen when they react with strong acids._

## Verb

10. To wind or unwind something, as a coil, thread, rope, or scroll. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To wind or unwind something, such as a rope or thread.
   - _The clerk slowly evolved the scroll across the broad table._
   - _Workers would evolve the heavy cable from its great iron reel._

## Origin

Borrowed from Latin ēvolvō ("unroll, unfold"), formed from ē- ("out of," a short form of ex) plus volvō ("roll").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/evolve (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).