develop

[ dih-vel-uh p ]

/ dɪˈvɛl əp /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR develop ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to bring out the capabilities or possibilities of; bring to a more advanced or effective state: to develop natural resources; to develop one's musical talent.

to cause to grow or expand: to develop one's muscles.

to elaborate or expand in detail: to develop a theory.

to bring into being or activity; generate; evolve.

Drafting. to transfer the details of (a more or less two-dimensional design, pattern, or the like) from one surface, especially one that is prismatic or cylindrical, onto another, usually planar, in such a way that the distances between points remain the same.

Biology.

to cause to go through the process of natural evolution from a previous and lower stage.
to cause to progress from an embryonic to an adult form.

Mathematics. to express in an extended form, as in a series.

Music. to unfold, by various technical means, the inherent possibilities of (a theme).

Photography.

to render visible (the latent image on an exposed film or the like).
to treat (an exposed film or the like) with chemicals so as to render the latent image visible.

Chess. to bring (a piece) into effective play, especially during the initial phase of a game when pieces are moved from their original position on the board: He developed his rook by castling.

Mining. to prepare (a new mine) for working by digging access openings and building necessary structures.

verb (used without object)

to grow into a more mature or advanced state; advance; expand: She is developing into a good reporter.

to come gradually into existence or operation; be evolved.

to be disclosed; become evident or manifest: The plot of the novel developed slowly.

to undergo developing, as a photographic film.

Biology.

to progress from an embryonic to an adult form.
to progress from earlier to later stages of ontogeny or phylogeny.
to reach sexual maturity.

Origin of develop

1585–95; < Middle French développer, Old French desveloper, equivalent to des- dis-¹ + voloper to wrap up; see envelop

OTHER WORDS FROM develop

de·vel·op·a·ble, adjective de·vel·op·a·bil·i·ty, noun half-de·vel·oped, adjective hy·per·de·vel·oped, adjective

mis·de·vel·op, verb non·de·vel·op·a·ble, adjective pre·de·vel·op, verb un·de·vel·op·a·ble, adjective well-de·vel·oped, adjective

Words nearby develop

devastate, devastating, devastation, devein, devel., develop, developable surface, developer, developing, developing agent, developing country

Example sentences from the Web for well-developed

Piracy has transformed into a well-developed business and I am part of that business.

The Pirate Negotiator |Caitlin Dickson |November 14, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Three months ago, what was on display was the well-developed British talent for carping, sneering, and nitpicking.

Britain Gets Its Groove Back |Peter Popham |September 16, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Members of the high court have well-developed legal philosophies.

The Supreme Court’s Health-Care Stock Problem |Peter Schweizer |March 28, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
As a candidate, he had no well-developed policy on bank bailouts, fiscal stimulus, or trillion-dollar-plus deficits.

Palin's Brilliant 2012 Play |Joe Mathews |July 7, 2009 |DAILY BEAST

He had a dark moustache, and his chin was square and well-developed.

The Fortunes of the Farrells |Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
The cerebrum with well-developed furrows covers the other portions of the brain.

The Whence and the Whither of Man |John Mason Tyler
Moreover, the presence of definite and well-developed poison glands can easily be shown.

Handbook of Medical Entomology |William Albert Riley
They are powerful, their features are regular, and their well-developed foreheads show intelligence.

The Human Race |Louis Figuier
The presence of a well-developed scrotal pouch shows the specimen to be a male.

American Weasels |E. Raymond Hall

British Dictionary definitions for well-developed (1 of 2)

well-developed

adjective (well developed when postpositive)

carefully or extensively elaborated or evolved

British Dictionary definitions for well-developed (2 of 2)

develop

/ (dɪˈvɛləp) /

verb

to come or bring to a later or more advanced or expanded stage; grow or cause to grow gradually

(tr) to elaborate or work out in detail

to disclose or unfold (thoughts, a plot, etc) gradually or (of thoughts, etc) to be gradually disclosed or unfolded

to come or bring into existence; generate or be generated he developed a new faith in God

(intr often foll by from) to follow as a result (of); ensue (from) a row developed following the chairman's remarks

(tr) to contract (a disease or illness)

(tr) to improve the value or change the use of (land), as by building

(tr) to exploit or make available the natural resources of (a country or region)

(tr) photog

to treat (film, plate, or paper previously exposed to light, or the latent image in such material) with chemical solutions in order to produce a visible image
to process (photographic material) in order to produce negatives and prints

biology to progress or cause to progress from simple to complex stages in the growth of an individual or the evolution of a species

(tr) to elaborate upon (a musical theme) by varying the melody, key, etc

(tr) maths to expand (a function or expression) in the form of a series

(tr) geometry to project or roll out (a surface) onto a plane without stretching or shrinking any element

chess to bring (a piece) into play from its initial position on the back rank

(tr) obsolete to disclose or reveal

Derived forms of develop

developable, adjective

Word Origin for develop

C19: from Old French desveloper to unwrap, from des- dis- 1 + veloper to wrap; see envelop

Medical definitions for well-developed

develop

[ dĭ-vĕl′əp ]

v.

To progress from earlier to later stages of a life cycle.

To progress from earlier to later or from simpler to more complex stages of evolution.

To aid in the growth of; strengthen.

To grow by degrees into a more advanced or mature state.

To become affected with a disease; contract.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

develop

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of develop

OTHER WORDS FROM develop

Words nearby develop

Example sentences from the Web for well-developed

British Dictionary definitions for well-developed (1 of 2)

adjective (well developed when postpositive)

British Dictionary definitions for well-developed (2 of 2)

verb

Derived forms of develop

Word Origin for develop

Medical definitions for well-developed

v.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

develop

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of develop

OTHER WORDS FROM develop

Words nearby develop

Words related to well-developed

Example sentences from the Web for well-developed

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for well-developed (1 of 2)

adjective (well developed when postpositive)

British Dictionary definitions for well-developed (2 of 2)

verb

Derived forms of develop

Word Origin for develop

Medical definitions for well-developed

v.

British Dictionary definitions for well-developed (1 of 2)