Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - develop

 verb  Etymology: French developper, from Old French desveloper, desvoluper to unwrap, expose, from des- de- + envoloper to enclose — more at envelop  Date: 1750  transitive verb  1.  a. to set forth or make clear by degrees or in detail ; expound ~ a thesis  b. to make visible or manifest  c. to treat (as in dyeing) with an agent to cause the appearance of color  d. to subject (exposed photograph material) especially to chemicals in order to produce a visible image ~ film; also to make visible by such a method ~ pictures  e. to elaborate (a musical idea) by the working out of rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme  2.  a. to work out the possibilities of ~ an idea  b. to create or produce especially by deliberate effort over time ~ new ways of doing business ~ software  3.  a. to make active or promote the growth of ~ed his muscles  b.  (1) to make available or usable ~ natural resources  (2) to make suitable for commercial or residential purposes ~ land  c. to move (as a chess piece) from the original position to one providing more opportunity for effective use  4.  a. to cause to unfold gradually ~ed his argument  b. to expand by a process of growth working to ~ the company further  c. to cause to grow and differentiate along lines natural to its kind rain and sun ~ the grain  d. to become infected or affected by ~ed pneumonia  5. to acquire gradually ~ an appreciation for ballet  intransitive verb  1.  a. to go through a process of natural growth, differentiation, or evolution by successive changes a blossom ~s from a bud  b. to acquire secondary sex characteristics  2. to become gradually manifest  3. to come into being gradually the situation ~ing in eastern Europe; also turn out 2a it ~ed that no one had paid the bill  • ~able adjective