HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

de·vel·op

(dĭ-vĕləp)

v. de·vel·oped, de·vel·op·ing, de·vel·ops

v.tr.

1. To bring from latency to or toward fulfillment: an instructor who develops the capabilities of each student.

a. To expand or enlarge: developed a national corporation into a worldwide business.

b. To aid in the growth of; strengthen: exercises that develop muscles.

c. To improve the quality of; refine: develops his recipes to perfection; an extra year of study to develop virtuosic technique.

a. To cause to become more complex or intricate; add detail and fullness to; elaborate: began with a good premise but developed it without imagination.

b. Music To elaborate (a theme) with rhythmic and harmonic variations.

a. To bring into being gradually: develop a new cottage industry.

b. To set forth or clarify by degrees: developed her thesis in a series of articles.

a. To come to have gradually; acquire: develop a taste for opera; develop a friendship.

b. To become affected with; contract: developed a rash; developed agoraphobia.

6. To cause gradually to acquire a specific role, function, or form, as:

a. To influence the behavior of toward a specific end: an investigator who develops witnesses through flattery and intimidation.

b. To cause (a tract of land or a building) to serve a particular purpose: developed the site as a community of condominiums.

c. To make available and effective to fulfill a particular end or need: develop the state's water resources to serve a growing population.

d. To convert or transform: developed the play into a movie.

7. Games To move (a chess piece) to or toward a more strategic position.

a. To process (a photosensitive medium such as exposed film) in order to produce a photographic image.

b. To produce (a photographic image) by use of a photosensitive medium or by printing from a digital file.

v.intr.

a. To grow by degrees into a more advanced or mature state: With hard work, she developed into a great writer.

b. To increase or expand: Sales developed until we needed a bigger warehouse.

c. To improve; advance: Their skill developed until it rivaled their teacher's.

2. To come gradually into existence or activity: Tension developed between students and faculty.

3. To come gradually to light; be disclosed: reports the news as it develops.

4. Biology

a. To progress from earlier to later stages of a life cycle: Caterpillars develop into butterflies.

b. To progress from earlier to later stages of evolution: Mammals developed during the Mesozoic Era.

c. To acquire secondary sex characteristics. Used especially of a girl.

[French développer, from Old French desveloper : des-, dis- + voloper, to wrap (possibly of Celtic origin).]

de·velop·a·ble adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

American Heritage Dictionary Products