develop

/dɪˈvɛləp/

/dɪˈvɛləp/

Other forms: developed; developing; develops

When something develops, it grows. And if you develop something, you create it. Your cold might develop into a rare disease, and you might just develop the vaccine to stop its spread.

Develop is a verb that means to build up, grow, or improve gradually over time. A developer is someone who develops land into shopping malls, schools, and skyscrapers. The process can take months, but eventually they will transform a pile of dirt into a building. Many years ago, people would develop photographs by dipping them into various chemicals. As the pictures developed, an image would gradually appear.

Definitions of develop

1. 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”

   types:

   differentiate

   become different during development

   dedifferentiate

   lose specialization in form or function

   grow

   increase in size by natural process

   age, get on, maturate, mature, senesce

   grow old or older

   age

   begin to seem older; get older

   advance, come along, come on, get along, get on, progress, shape up

   develop in a positive way

   grow, maturate, mature

   develop and reach maturity; undergo maturation

   evolve

   undergo development or evolution

   adolesce

   become adolescent; pass through adolescence

   build, build up, progress, work up

   form or accumulate steadily

   incubate

   grow under conditions that promote development

   blossom, blossom forth, blossom out, unfold

   develop or come to a promising stage

   bloom, blossom, flower

   produce or yield flowers

   spike, spike out

   bring forth a spike or spikes

   bud

   develop buds

   cut

   grow through the gums

   ancylose, ankylose

   undergo ankylosis

   differentiate, specialise, specialize, speciate

   evolve so as to lead to a new species or develop in a way most suited to the environment

   undergrow

   grow below something

   exfoliate

   grow by producing or unfolding leaves

   vegetate

   grow like a plant

   vegetate

   produce vegetation

   twin

   grow as twins

   turn

   become officially one year older

   climb

   improve one's social status

   leapfrog

   progress by large jumps instead of small increments

   fossilise, fossilize

   become mentally inflexible

   ripen

   grow ripe

   find, find oneself

   accept and make use of one's personality, abilities, and situation

   derive

   come from

   burst forth, effloresce

   come into or as if into flower

   bourgeon, burgeon forth, germinate, pullulate, shoot, sprout, spud

   produce buds, branches, or germinate

   grow up

   become an adult

   dote

   be foolish or senile due to old age

   type of:

   grow

   become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain
2. verb

   come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)
   “The patient developed abdominal pains”

   synonyms: acquire, get, grow, produce

   acquire, evolve

   gain through experience

   types:

   feather, fledge

   grow feathers

   regrow

   grow anew or continue growth after an injury or interruption

   spring

   develop suddenly

   sprout, stock

   put forth and grow sprouts or shoots

   stool, tiller

   grow shoots in the form of stools or tillers

   leaf

   produce leaves, of plants

   pod

   produce pods, of plants

   teethe

   grow teeth; cut the baby teeth

   pupate

   develop into a pupa

   get up, work up

   develop

   cut

   have grow through the gums

   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
3. verb

   be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest
   “The plot developed slowly”

   synonyms:

   break, recrudesce

   happen

   arise, grow, originate, rise, spring up, uprise

   come into existence; take on form or shape

   type of:

   come about, fall out, go on, hap, happen, occur, pass, pass off, take place

   come to pass
4. verb

   happen
   “Report the news as it develops”

   synonyms: break, recrudesce

   type of:

   come about, fall out, go on, hap, happen, occur, pass, pass off, take place

   come to pass
5. verb

   cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development
   “The perfect climate here develops the grain”

   “He developed a new kind of apple”

   synonyms: make grow

   build up

   change the use of and make available or usable

   types:

   grow

   cause to grow or develop

   work out, work up

   come up with

   elaborate, work out

   work out in detail

   foliate

   grow leaves

   check, condition, discipline, train

   develop (children's) behavior by instruction and practice; especially to teach self-control

   vegetate

   establish vegetation on

   culture

   grow in a special preparation

   rotate

   plant or grow in a fixed cyclic order of succession

   swell

   cause to become swollen

   germinate

   cause to grow or sprout

   root

   cause to take roots

   mortify

   practice self-denial of one's body and appetites

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
6. verb

   gain through experience
   “Children must develop a sense of right and wrong”

   “Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position”

   “develop a passion for painting”

   synonyms: acquire, evolve

   acquire, get, grow, produce

   come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)

   explicate, formulate

   elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses

   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
7. verb

   elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
   “Could you develop the ideas in your thesis”

   synonyms: explicate, formulate

   acquire, evolve

   gain through experience

   types:

   mature

   develop and work out fully in one's mind

   redevelop, reformulate

   formulate or develop again, of an improved theory or hypothesis

   type of:

   conjecture, hypothecate, hypothesise, hypothesize, speculate, suppose, theorise, theorize

   believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
8. 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”

   synonyms:

   acquire, evolve

   gain through experience

   explicate, formulate

   elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses

   type of:

   complicate, elaborate, rarify, refine

   make more complex, intricate, or richer
9. verb

   create by training and teaching
   “we develop the leaders for the future”

   synonyms: educate, prepare, train

   build up

   change the use of and make available or usable

   prepare, train

   undergo training or instruction in preparation for a particular role, function, or profession

   groom, prepare, train

   educate for a future role or function

   types:

   retrain

   teach new skills

   drill

   train in the military, e.g., in the use of weapons

   house-train, housebreak

   train (a pet) to live cleanly in a house

   toilet-train

   train (a small child) to use the toilet

   type of:

   instruct, learn, teach

   impart skills or knowledge to
10. verb

    generate gradually
    “We must develop more potential customers”

    “develop a market for the new mobile phone”

    synonyms:

    build up

    change the use of and make available or usable

    acquire, evolve

    gain through experience

    types:

    make

    favor the development of

    type of:

    bring forth, generate

    bring into existence
11. verb

    grow emotionally or mature
    “The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten”

    synonyms: grow

    types:

    outgrow

    grow too large or too mature for

    make

    develop into

    type of:

    change

    undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
12. verb

    come into existence; take on form or shape
    synonyms: arise, grow, originate, rise, spring up, uprise

    types:

    resurge

    rise again

    come forth, emerge

    happen or occur as a result of something

    come, follow

    to be the product or result

    swell, well up

    come up (as of feelings and thoughts, or other ephemeral things)

    head

    take its rise

    break

    come forth or begin from a state of latency

    type of:

    become

    come into existence
13. 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”

    synonyms:

    evolve, germinate

    work out

    types:

    build

    give form to, according to a plan

    type of:

    create

    bring into existence
14. verb

    work out
    “We have developed a new theory of evolution”

    synonyms: evolve, germinate

    type of:

    create by mental act, create mentally

    create mentally and abstractly rather than with one's hands
15. verb

    become technologically advanced
    “Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace”

    synonyms: modernise, modernize

    build up

    change the use of and make available or usable

    type of:

    change

    undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
16. verb

    change the use of and make available or usable
    “develop land”

    “The country developed its natural resources”

    synonyms: build up

    make grow

    cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development

    modernise, modernize

    become technologically advanced

    educate, prepare, train

    create by training and teaching

    types:

    redevelop

    change the plans for the use of (land)

    settle

    establish or develop as a residence

    type of:

    ameliorate, amend, better, improve, meliorate

    make better
17. verb

    move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions
    “Spassky developed quickly”

    type of:

    play

    participate in games or sport
18. verb

    move into a strategically more advantageous position
    “develop the rook”

    type of:

    play

    participate in games or sport
19. verb

    make visible by means of chemical solutions
    “Please develop this roll of film for me”

    types:

    solarise, solarize

    reverse some of the tones of (a negative or print) and introduce pronounced outlines of highlights, by exposing it briefly to light, then washing and redeveloping it

    underdevelop

    process (a film or photographic plate) less than the required time or in an ineffective solution or at an insufficiently high temperature

    redevelop

    develop for a second time, in order to improve the contrast, colour, etc., of a negative or print

    type of:

    alter, change, modify

    cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
20. verb

    superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
    type of:

    lay over, superimpose, superpose

    place on top of
21. verb

    expand in the form of a series
    “Develop the function in the following form”

    type of:

    expand

    make bigger or wider in size, volume, or quantity