Definition of Develop

Verb: develop di've-lup

Make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation
"Her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather"; "They developed a new technique"
Work out
"We have developed a new theory of evolution";
- evolve, germinate
Gain through experience
"Children must develop a sense of right and wrong"; "Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position"; "develop a passion for painting";
- acquire, evolve
Come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)
"The patient developed abdominal pains"; "Well-developed breasts";
- grow, produce, get, acquire
Come into existence; take on form or shape
"A new religious movement developed in that country";
- originate, arise, rise, uprise, spring up, grow
Change the use of and make available or usable
"develop land"; "The country developed its natural resources";
- build up
Elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
"Could you develop the ideas in your thesis";
- explicate, formulate
Create by training and teaching
"we develop the leaders for the future";
- train, prepare, educate
Be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest
"The plot developed slowly"
Grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment
"A flower developed on the branch"; "The country developed into a mighty superpower"; "The embryo develops into a foetus"; "This situation has developed over a long time"
Become technologically advanced
"Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace";
- modernize, modernise [Brit]
Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development
"The perfect climate here develops the grain"; "He developed a new kind of apple";
- make grow
Generate gradually
"We must develop more potential customers"; "develop a market for the new mobile phone"
Grow emotionally or mature
"The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten";
- grow
(photography) make visible by means of chemical solutions
"Please develop this roll of film for me"
Superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
(chess) move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions
"Spassky developed quickly"
(chess) move into a strategically more advantageous position
"develop the rook"
Elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme
"develop the melody and change the key"
Happen
"Report the news as it develops";
- break, recrudesce
(mathematics) expand in the form of a series
"Develop the function in the following form"