development

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining

   I congratulated them on their development of a plan to meet the emergency.

2. 2
   noun

   the act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful

   the development of Alaskan resources

3. 3
   noun

   a recent event that has some relevance for the present situation

   recent developments in Iraq

4. 4
   noun

   a district that has been developed to serve some purpose

   such land is practical for small park developments

5. 5
   noun

   processing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible

   The development and printing of the pictures took only two hours.

6. 6
   noun

   a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage, especially a more advanced or mature stage

   The development of this idea took many years.

7. 7
   noun

   The process of developing; growth, directed change.

   The development of this story has been slow.

8. 8
   noun

   The 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.

Etymology

From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756.