Definition of DEVELOP

develop

Verb

Verb Forms: developed, developing, develops

  • To bring to a more advanced or effective state.
  • 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"
  • work out
    • "We have developed a new theory of evolution"
  • 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"
  • come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)
    • "The patient developed abdominal pains"
    • "Well-developed breasts"
  • come into existence; take on form or shape
  • change the use of and make available or usable
    • "develop land"
    • "The country developed its natural resources"
  • elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
    • "Could you develop the ideas in your thesis"
  • create by training and teaching
    • "we develop the leaders for the future"
  • be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest
    • "The plot developed slowly"
  • 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"
  • become technologically advanced
    • "Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace"
  • 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"
  • generate gradually
    • "We must develop more potential customers"
    • "develop a market for the new mobile phone"
  • grow emotionally or mature
    • "The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten"
  • make visible by means of chemical solutions
    • "Please develop this roll of film for me"
  • superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
  • move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions
    • "Spassky developed quickly"
  • move into a strategically more advantageous position
    • "develop the rook"
  • 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"
  • happen
    • "Report the news as it develops"
  • expand in the form of a series
    • "Develop the function in the following form"
  • To discover, find out; to uncover.
  • To change with a specific direction, progress.
  • To progress through a sequence of stages.
  • To advance; to further; to promote the growth of.
  • To create.
  • To bring out images latent in photographic film.
  • To acquire something usually over a period of time.
  • To place one's pieces actively.
  • To cause a ball to become more open and available to be played on later. Usually by moving it away from the cushion, or by opening a pack.
  • To change the form of (an algebraic expression, etc.) by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.

Examples

  • A strategic Scrabble player seeks to develop a strong rack by exchanging unwanted tiles for better ones.
  • I have been in England enough to develop a British accent.
  • I need to develop a plan for the next three weeks.
  • I need to develop my white-square bishop.
  • Isabel developed from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a hurricane. An embryo develops into a fetus and then into an infant.
  • Let's see how things develop and then make our decision.
  • Please develop this roll of film.
  • She developed bad eating habits.
  • You will develop calluses if you play the cello.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from French développer, from Middle French desveloper, from Old French desveloper, from des- + voloper, veloper, vloper (“to wrap, wrap up”) (compare Italian sviluppare, Old Italian alternative form goluppare (“to wrap”)) from Vulgar Latin *vloppō, *wloppō (“to wrap”) ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wrappaną, *wlappaną (“to wrap, roll up, turn, wind”), from Proto-Indo-European *werb- (“to turn, bend”) http://www.wordnik.com/words/envelop. Akin to Middle English wlappen (“to wrap, fold”) (Modern English lap (“to wrap, involve, fold”)), Middle English wrappen (“to wrap”), Middle Dutch lappen (“to wrap up, embrace”), dialectal Danish vravle (“to wind, twist”), Middle Low German wrempen (“to wrinkle, scrunch, distort”), Old English wearp (“warp”). The word acquired its modern meaning from the 17th-century belief that an egg contains the animal in miniature and matures by growing larger and shedding its envelopes.

Scrabble Score: 13

develop: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
develop: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
develop: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

develop: valid Words With Friends Word