Meaning & use
development
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Meanings
noununcountable
The gradual process of growing, becoming stronger, or moving to a more advanced stage.
Grammar: Used without an or the plural for the process: child development, the development of skills.
Patterns
- the development of something
- development in something
Early childhood development depends heavily on sleep and nutrition.
The development of the town into a busy port took a century.
The course supports the development of speaking skills.
nouncountable
A new event or change in a continuing situation, especially one that affects what happens next.
Grammar: Often appears with latest, recent or new: a surprising development.
Patterns
- a development in something
- the latest development
The latest development in the case surprised everyone.
There were no major developments overnight.
This unexpected development forced the team to change its plans.
noununcountable
The work of creating a new product, idea, or piece of software, or the stage when this takes place.
Grammar: Often a modifier: product development, software development, research and development.
Patterns
- the development of something
- in development
The new phone has been in development for three years.
She works in software development for a small bank.
The company spends a lot on research and development.
nouncountable or uncountable
An area of land with new buildings on it, or the building of such an area.
Grammar: Countable for a place (a housing development) and uncountable for the activity (land development).
Patterns
- a development of something
- a housing development
They bought a small house in a new housing development.
Local residents oppose further development near the river.
The development includes shops, a school, and a park.
Word forms
| plural | developments |
|---|
Common combinations
- economic development
- The region needs investment to support economic development.
- latest development
- Officials will announce the latest development tomorrow.
- personal development
- The workshop focuses on personal development and confidence.
- in development
- A cure for the disease is still in development.
- housing development
- A large housing development was approved on the edge of town.
- a welcome development
- The ceasefire was a welcome development for families nearby.
Synonyms and how they differ
- growth
- Growth stresses getting bigger or increasing, while development stresses becoming more complex or advanced.
- progress
- Progress suggests moving toward a goal, whereas development can be neutral and does not always mean improvement.
- evolution
- Evolution implies slow change over a long period, so it fits less well for a quick event or a planned project.
- event
- Event simply names something that happens, while development implies it changes an ongoing situation.
Opposites
Word family
- develop verb
- to grow or to make something grow or improve
- developer noun
- a person or company that builds property or creates software
- developmental adjective
- relating to growth and change over time
- underdeveloped adjective
- not yet fully grown or advanced
- redevelopment noun
- the rebuilding or improving of an area
Commonly confused: development or improvement? development or envelopment?
development vs improvement
An improvement is always a change for the better, but a development can be good, bad, or neutral.
development vs envelopment
Envelopment means being covered or wrapped completely, and it is an unrelated rare word.
Practice
The police said there had been a major ___ in the investigation overnight.
Choose one answer.
A noun is needed after the adjective major, and development here means a new event in an ongoing situation. Developer would name a person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “development”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.