1. (

• development ,

) act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining; "he congratulated them on their development of a plan to meet the emergency"; "they funded research and development" ;

2. (

• development ,
• evolution ,

) a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage); "the development of his ideas took many years"; "the evolution of Greek civilization"; "the slow development of her skill as a writer" ;

3. (

• growth ,
• growing ,
• maturation ,
• development ,
• ontogeny ,
• ontogenesis

) (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children" ;

4. (

• development ,

) a recent event that has some relevance for the present situation; "recent developments in Iraq"; "what a revolting development!" ;

5. (

• exploitation ,
• development ,

) the act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful; "the development of Alaskan resources"; "the exploitation of copper deposits" ;

6. (

• development

) a district that has been developed to serve some purpose; "such land is practical for small park developments" ;

7. (

• development

) a state in which things are improving; the result of developing (as in the early part of a game of chess); "after he saw the latest development he changed his mind and became a supporter"; "in chess your should take care of your development before moving your queen" ;

8. (

• development ,
• developing

) processing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible; "the development and printing of his pictures took only two hours" ;

9. (

• development

) (music) the section of a composition or movement (especially in sonata form) where the major musical themes are developed and elaborated ;