Develop

English Meaning

To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse power.

1. To bring from latency to or toward fulfillment: an instructor who develops the capabilities of each student.
2. To expand or enlarge: developed a national corporation into a worldwide business.
3. To aid in the growth of; strengthen: exercises that develop muscles.
4. To improve the quality of; refine: develops his recipes to perfection; an extra year of study to develop virtuosic technique.
5. To cause to become more complex or intricate; add detail and fullness to; elaborate: began with a good premise but developed it without imagination.
6. Music To elaborate (a theme) with rhythmic and harmonic variations.
7. To bring into being gradually: develop a new cottage industry.
8. To set forth or clarify by degrees: developed her thesis in a series of articles.
9. To come to have gradually; acquire: develop a taste for opera; develop a friendship.
10. To become affected with; contract; developed a rash; developed agoraphobia.
11. To cause gradually to acquire a specific role, function, or form, as:
12. To influence the behavior of toward a specific end: an investigator who develops witnesses through flattery and intimidation.
13. To cause (a tract of land) to serve a particular purpose: developed the site as a community of condominiums.
14. To make available and effective to fulfill a particular end or need: develop the state's water resources to serve a growing population.
15. To convert or transform: developed the play into a movie.
16. Games To move (a chess piece) to or toward a more strategic position.
17. To process (a photosensitive material), especially with chemicals, in order to render a recorded image visible.
18. To render (an image) visible by this means.
19. To grow by degrees into a more advanced or mature state: With hard work, she developed into a great writer. See Synonyms at mature.
20. To increase or expand.
21. To improve; advance: Their skill developed until it rivaled their teacher's.
22. To come gradually into existence or activity: Tension developed between students and faculty.
23. To come gradually to light; be disclosed: reports the news as it develops.
24. Biology To progress from earlier to later stages of a life cycle: Caterpillars develop into butterflies.
25. Biology To progress from earlier to later or from simpler to more complex stages of evolution.