noun (n)

• act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining(noun.act)

  Example:
  He congratulated them on their development of a plan to meet the emergency.
  They funded research and development.
  

  source: wordnet30
• a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)(noun.process)

  Example:
  The development of his ideas took many years.
  The slow development of her skill as a writer.
  

  Synonym:
  evolution
  Antonym:
  degeneration, devolution
  

  source: wordnet30
• (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(noun.process)

  Example:
  He proposed an indicator of osseous development in children.
  

  Synonym:
  growing, growth, maturation, ontogenesis, ontogeny
  Antonym:
  nondevelopment
  

  source: wordnet30
• a recent event that has some relevance for the present situation(noun.event)

  Example:
  Recent developments in Iraq.
  What a revolting development!.
  

  source: wordnet30
• the act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful(noun.act)

  Example:
  The development of Alaskan resources.
  

  Synonym:
  exploitation
  

  source: wordnet30
• a district that has been developed to serve some purpose(noun.location)

  Example:
  Such land is practical for small park developments.
  

  source: wordnet30
• a state in which things are improving; the result of developing (as in the early part of a game of chess)(noun.state)

  Example:
  After he saw the latest development he changed his mind and became a supporter.
  In chess your should take care of your development before moving your queen.
  

  source: wordnet30
• processing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible(noun.process)

  Example:
  The development and printing of his pictures took only two hours.
  

  Synonym:
  developing
  

  source: wordnet30
• (music) the section of a composition or movement (especially in sonata form) where the major musical themes are developed and elaborated(noun.communication)

  source: wordnet30
• The act of developing or disclosing that which is unknown; a gradual unfolding process by which anything is developed, as a plan or method, or an image upon a photographic plate; gradual advancement or growth through a series of progressive changes; also, the result of developing, or a developed state.(noun)

  source: webster1913