Meanings
plural developments · alternative developement
- uncountableThe process of developing; growth, directed change.
The development of this story has been slow.
1 more example
Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34Synonyms: conversion, metamorphosis, transformation, conversion, metamorphosis, transfiguration, transfigurement, transformation
- uncountablebiologyThe process by which a mature multicellular organism or part of an organism is produced by the addition of new cells.
The organism has reached a crucial stage in its development.
1 more example
Of more significance in the nature of branch development; in the Jubulaceae, as in the Porellaceae, branches are acroscopic and normally replace a ventral leaf lobe.
1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 5 - countableSomething which has developed.
up-to-date with new developments in IT
1 more example
Our news team brings you the latest developments.
- countablebusinessA project consisting of one or more commercial or residential buildings.
- uncountablebusinessThe building of such a project.
- uncountableThe application of new ideas to practical problems (cf. research).
Our development department has produced three new adhesives this year.
- uncountableboard gamesThe active placement of the pieces, or the process of achieving it.
White's development is good, but black's has been hampered by the pawn on e5.
- countableuncountableentertainmentThe process by in which previous material is transformed and restated.
- countableuncountableentertainmentThe second section of a piece of music in sonata form, in which the original theme is revisited in altered and varying form.
- countableuncountableartsThe processing of photographic film so as to bring out the images latent in it.
I sent the film to a specialist lab for development.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe process of developing; growth, directed change.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)
noun(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
nounthe act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful
nounprocessing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchdesvelopemens“unrolling”
- Frenchdéveloppement
- Englishdevelopment
From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756.
More words from French, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans outwikkeling
- outwikkelingprocess of developing
Arabic إِعْمَار, تَعْمِير
- إِعْمَار (ʔiʕmār)process of developing
- تَعْمِير (taʕmīr)process of developing
- تَطَوُّر (taṭawwur)process of developing
Bengali বিকাশ, উন্নয়ন
- বিকাশ (bikaś)process of developing
- উন্নয়ন (unnoẏon)process of developing
- তরক্কী (torokki)process of developing
Bulgarian разви́тие, напре́дък
- разви́тие (razvítie)process of developing
- напре́дък (naprédăk)process of developing
- усъвърше́нстване (usăvăršénstvane)application of new ideas to practical problems (compare research)
Catalan desenvolupament
- desenvolupamentprocess of developing
Chinese Cantonese 發展 /发展, 開發 /开发
- 發展 /发展 (faat³ zin²)process of developing
- 開發 /开发 (hoi¹ faat³)process of developing
Chinese Mandarin 發展 /发展, 開發 /开发
- 發展 /发展 (fāzhǎn)process of developing
- 開發 /开发 (kāifā)process of developing
Czech vývoj, rozvoj
- vývojprocess of developing
- rozvojprocess of developing
- vývojapplication of new ideas to practical problems (compare research)
Danish udvikling, udvikling
- udviklingprocess of developing
- udviklingsomething which has developed
- udviklingapplication of new ideas to practical problems (compare research)
- udviklingactive placement of the pieces, or the process of achieving it
- udbygningreal estate development
- udvidelsereal estate development
Dutch ontwikkeling
- ontwikkelingprocess of developing
Esperanto disvolvado
- disvolvadoprocess of developing
Estonian areng, areng
- arengprocess of developing
- arengsomething which has developed
Finnish kehitys, kehittyminen
- kehitysprocess of developing
- kehittyminenprocess of developing
- kehittelyprocess of developing
- kehityssomething which has developed
- uutisetsomething which has developed
- kehittäminenapplication of new ideas to practical problems (compare research)
- tuotekehitysapplication of new ideas to practical problems (compare research)
- pelinrakentaminenactive placement of the pieces, or the process of achieving it
- rakentaminenreal estate development
French développement
- développementprocess of developing
German Entwicklung, Entwicklung
- Entwicklungprocess of developing
- Entwicklungsomething which has developed
Greek ανάπτυξη, εξέλιξη
- ανάπτυξη (anáptyxi)process of developing
- εξέλιξη (exélixi)something which has developed
- ανάπτυξη (anáptyxi)music: transformation and restatement of previous material
- ανάπτυξη (anáptyxi)music: second section of sonata form
Hebrew הִתְפַּתְּחוּת, הִתְפַּתְּחוּת
- הִתְפַּתְּחוּת (hitpatkhút)process of developing
- הִתְפַּתְּחוּת (hitpatkhút)something which has developed
- פיתוח \ פִּתּוּחַ (pitúakh)application of new ideas to practical problems (compare research)
- פיתוח (pituakh)real estate development
Hindi विकास, उन्नति
- विकास (vikās)process of developing
- उन्नति (unnati)process of developing
- प्रगति (pragti)process of developing
- उन्नत (unnat)something which has developed
- विकसित (viksit)something which has developed
Hungarian fejlesztés, fejlődés
- fejlesztésprocess of developing
- fejlődésprocess of developing
- fejleménysomething which has developed
Icelandic þroski, úrvinnsla
- þroskiprocess of developing
- úrvinnslamusic: transformation and restatement of previous material
- úrvinnslamusic: second section of sonata form
Indonesian perkembangan, pengembangan
- perkembanganprocess of developing
- pengembanganprocess of developing
- pembangunanprocess of developing
- pembangunanreal estate development
Irish forás
- forásprocess of developing
Italian sviluppo, potenziamento
- sviluppoprocess of developing
- potenziamentoprocess of developing
- potenziamentosomething which has developed
Japanese 発展, 開発
- 発展 (hatten)process of developing
- 開発 (kaihatsu)process of developing
Korean 발전, 개발
- 발전 (baljeon)process of developing
- 개발 (gaebal)process of developing
Latvian attīstība
- attīstībaprocess of developing
Lithuanian vystymasis
- vystymasisprocess of developing
Malay perkembangan
- perkembanganprocess of developing
Māori whakapakaritanga, whanaketanga
- whakapakaritangaprocess of developing
- whanaketangaprocess of developing
- whanaketangasomething which has developed
Norwegian Bokmål utvikling, framvekst
- utviklingprocess of developing
- framvekstprocess of developing
Polish rozwój
- rozwójprocess of developing
Portuguese desenvolvimento
- desenvolvimentoprocess of developing
Punjabi ਵਿਕਾਸ
- ਵਿਕਾਸ (vikās)process of developing
Romanian dezvoltare
- dezvoltareprocess of developing
Russian разви́тие, достиже́ние
- разви́тие (razvítije)process of developing
- достиже́ние (dostižénije)something which has developed
- разрабо́тка (razrabótka)something which has developed
Scottish Gaelic adhartas, leasachadh
- adhartasprocess of developing
- leasachadhprocess of developing
- adhartassomething which has developed
- leasachadhsomething which has developed
- adhartasapplication of new ideas to practical problems (compare research)
Slovak vývoj, rozvoj
- vývojprocess of developing
- rozvojprocess of developing
- vývinprocess of developing
Spanish desarrollo, desenvolvimiento
- desarrolloprocess of developing
- desenvolvimientoprocess of developing
- desarrollosomething which has developed
- acontecimientosomething which has developed
- novedadsomething which has developed
- cambiosomething which has developed
- urbanizaciónreal estate development
- fraccionamientoreal estate development
- edificaciónreal estate development
Swahili khuendelea, maendeleo
- khuendeleaprocess of developing
- maendeleoprocess of developing
Swedish utveckling, utveckling
- utvecklingprocess of developing
- utvecklingsomething which has developed
- utvecklingapplication of new ideas to practical problems (compare research)
- utbyggnadreal estate development
Tagalog paglinang, pagpapaunlad
- paglinangprocess of developing
- pagpapaunladprocess of developing
- pag-unladprocess of developing
- kaunlaransomething which has developed
Tamil ஆக்கம்
- ஆக்கம் (ākkam)process of developing
Thai การพัฒนา, พัฒนาการ
- การพัฒนา (gaan-pát-tá-naa)process of developing
- พัฒนาการ (pát-tá-naa-gaan)process of developing
Turkish ilerleme, kalkınma
- ilerlemeprocess of developing
- kalkınmaprocess of developing
- gelişmeprocess of developing
- gelişimprocess of developing
Ukrainian ро́звиток
- ро́звиток (rózvytok)process of developing
Urdu تَرَقِّی, نَشْو و نُمَا
- تَرَقِّی (taraqqī)process of developing
- نَشْو و نُمَا (naśv o numā)process of developing
- نَشْوونُمَا (naśvonumā)process of developing
Vietnamese sự phát triển, quá trình phát triển
- sự phát triểnprocess of developing
- quá trình phát triểnprocess of developing
Cite this entry
development. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/development
“development.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/development. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “development,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/development.
Source: development on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.