development

Sense 1 noun

act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining

he congratulated them on their development of a plan to meet the emergency

Sense 2 noun

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

Sense 3 noun

(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

Sense 4 noun

a recent event that has some relevance for the present situation

recent developments in Iraq

Sense 5 noun

the act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful

the development of Alaskan resources

Sense 6 noun

a district that has been developed to serve some purpose

such land is practical for small park developments

Sense 7 noun

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

Sense 8 noun

processing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible

the development and printing of his pictures took only two hours

Sense 9 noun

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