develop Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation
    • Her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather
    • They developed a new technique
  2. verb work out
    evolve; germinate.
    • We have developed a new theory of evolution
  3. verb gain through experience
    evolve; acquire.
    • I acquired a strong aversion to television
    • Children must develop a sense of right and wrong
    • Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position
    • develop a passion for painting
  4. verb come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)
    acquire; produce; grow; get.
    • He grew a beard
    • The patient developed abdominal pains
    • I got funny spots all over my body
    • Well-developed breasts
  5. verb come into existence; take on form or shape
    originate; rise; uprise; spring up; arise; grow.
    • A new religious movement originated in that country
    • a love that sprang up from friendship
    • the idea for the book grew out of a short story
    • An interesting phenomenon uprose
  6. verb change the use of and make available or usable
    build up.
    • develop land
    • The country developed its natural resources
    • The remote areas of the country were gradually built up
  7. verb elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
    explicate; formulate.
    • Could you develop the ideas in your thesis
  8. verb create by training and teaching
    educate; train; prepare.
    • The old master is training world-class violinists
    • we develop the leaders for the future
  9. verb be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest;
    • The plot developed slowly
  10. verb grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment
    • A flower developed on the branch
    • The country developed into a mighty superpower
    • The embryo develops into a fetus
    • This situation has developed over a long time
  11. verb become technologically advanced
    modernize; modernise.
    • Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace
    • Viet Nam is modernizing rapidly
  12. verb cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development
    make grow.
    • The perfect climate here develops the grain
    • He developed a new kind of apple
  13. verb generate gradually
    • We must develop more potential customers
    • develop a market for the new mobile phone
  14. verb grow emotionally or mature
    grow.
    • The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten
    • When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior
  15. verb make visible by means of chemical solutions
    • Please develop this roll of film for me
  16. verb superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
  17. verb move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions
    • Spassky developed quickly
  18. verb move into a strategically more advantageous position
    • develop the rook
  19. verb elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme
    • develop the melody and change the key
  20. verb happen
    break; recrudesce.
    • Report the news as it develops
    • These political movements recrudesce from time to time
  21. verb expand in the form of a series
    • Develop the function in the following form

WordNet

De*vel"op transitive verb
Etymology
F. déveloper; dé- (L. dis-) + OF. voluper, voleper, to envelop, perh. from L. volup agreeably, delightfully, and hence orig., to make agreeable or comfortable by enveloping, to keep snug (cf. Voluptuous); or. perh. fr. a derivative of volvere, volutum, to roll (cf. Devolve). Cf. Envelop.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Developed ; present participle & verbal noun Developing
Definitions
  1. To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse power.
    These serve to develop its tenets. Milner.
    The 20th was spent in strengthening our position and developing the line of the enemy. The Century.
  2. To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages, each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop the bud into a flower; to develop the mind.
    The sound developed itself into a real compound. J. Peile.
    All insects . . . acquire the jointed legs before the wings are fully developed. Owen.
  3. To advance; to further; to prefect; to make to increase; to promote the growth of.
    We must develop our own resources to the utmost. Jowett (Thucyd).
  4. (Math.) To change the form of, as of an algebraic expression, by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
  5. (Photog.) To cause to become visible, as an invisible or latent image upon plate, by submitting it to chemical agents; to bring to view. Syn. -- To uncover; unfold; evolve; promote; project; lay open; disclose; exhibit; unravel; disentangle.
De*vel"op intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To go through a process of natural evolution or growth, by successive changes from a less perfect to a more perfect or more highly organized state; to advance from a simpler form of existence to one more complex either in structure or function; as, a blossom develops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embryo develops into a well-formed animal; the mind develops year by year.
    Nor poets enough to understand That life develops from within. Mrs. Browning.
  2. To become apparent gradually; as, a picture on sensitive paper develops on the application of heat; the plans of the conspirators develop.

Webster 1913