develop
develop
/dɪˈveləp/
grow/improve
From birth to age 5, a child's brain develops rapidly.
Some children develop more slowly than others.
develop into something Gradually these settlements developed into cities.
develop from something Human beings developed from earlier species of animals.
develop from something into something The place has rapidly developed from a small fishing community into a thriving tourist resort.
develop something The aim is to develop your personal skills.
develop something from something She developed the company from nothing.
develop something into something The competition helps entrants develop ideas into business concepts.
2 transitive, intransitive develop (something) to start to have a skill, ability, quality, etc. that becomes better and stronger; to become better and stronger He's developed a real flair for management.
Their relationship has developed over a number of years.
He is trying hard to develop a loving relationship with his daughter.
Physicians need to develop a better understanding of this issue when providing care for older patients.
new idea/product
3 transitive develop something to think of or produce a new idea, product, etc. and make it successful The company develops and markets new software.
It takes time to develop new technology.
We are developing products for different parts of the industry.
to develop a strategy/system/programme
to develop a method/model/technique
A new type of painkilling drug has recently been developed.
We are gradually developing better treatments for these conditions.
A coherent strategy for getting more people back to work needs to be developed.
The purpose of this project was to develop a systematic teaching method that would foster self-directed learning.
The aim is to develop a system which will cost under $10 000.
disease/problem
4 transitive, intransitive develop (something) to begin to have something such as a disease or a problem; to start to affect somebody/something She developed lung cancer at the age of sixty.
Her son developed asthma when he was two.
The car developed engine trouble and we had to stop.
If symptoms develop, seek help quickly.
Problems can develop unexpectedly.
happen/change
5 intransitive to start to happen or change, especially in a bad way A crisis was rapidly developing in the Gulf.
We need more time to see how things develop before we take action.
develop into something The conflict quickly developed into full-scale war.
The situation is developing into a crisis.
build houses
6 transitive develop something to build new houses, factories, etc. on an area of land, especially land that was not being used effectively before The site is being developed by a French company.
A lot of residents in town feel that it would be tragic if the land were developed for residential use.
They have not yet received any applications for planning permission to develop the site.
create/improve facilities
7 transitive develop something to build or improve a building or other facilities The company is developing a chain of hotels.
He is enthusiastic about plans to develop the leisure facilities at the site.
become economically advanced
8 intransitive (economics) (of a country) to become economically and socially more advanced For a country to develop, a good road network is essential.
Their economy was developing at an incredible pace.
idea/story/musical theme
9 transitive develop something to add further explanation or details to an idea, story or musical theme She develops the theme more fully in her later books.
The piano then takes up the melody and develops it.
He began to develop these ideas in a series of paintings.
photographs
10 transitive develop something to treat film that has been used to take photographs with chemicals so that the pictures can be seen When Lewis developed the film, he was astonished by what he saw.
Word Origin
mid 17th cent. (in the sense ‘unfold, unfurl’): from French développer, based on Latin dis- ‘un-’ + a second element of unknown origin found also in envelop.