development

/dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt/

//dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"development" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“development” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #488. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#488
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The process of developing; growth, directed change.

Corpus desk

Index EN-development · development · English

development · rank #488 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-CORE #488
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH check

Nearest frequency peer: check (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “development”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “development” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

development vs developmental
85% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for development
PropertyValue
Headworddevelopment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt/
Letters11
Frequency rank#488
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “development”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).developmentlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “check” (#487), “form” (#489), “among” (#486). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “development” is #488. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around development (IPA /dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #488 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for development, with forms such as "ddevelopment", "deevlopment", and "devellopment". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "developmental", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756. The correct English form is development, spelled D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The process of developing; growth, directed change.
  2. 2
    The process by which a mature multicellular organism or part of an organism is produced by the addition of new cells.
  3. 3
    Something which has developed.
  4. 4
    A project consisting of one or more commercial or residential buildings.
  5. 5
    The building of such a project.
  6. 6
    The application of new ideas to practical problems (cf. research).
  7. 7
    The active placement of the pieces, or the process of achieving it.
  8. 8
    The process by in which previous material is transformed and restated.
  9. 9
    The second section of a piece of music in sonata form, in which the original theme is revisited in altered and varying form.
  10. 10
    The expression of a function in the form of a series.
  11. 11
    The processing of photographic film so as to bring out the images latent in it.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how development appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The development of this story has been slow.
  2. Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

Etymology

From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756.

This word in other languages

desarrollo(Español)développement(Français)Entwicklung(Deutsch)desenvolvimento(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddevelopment
  • deevlopment
  • devellopment
  • develompent
  • developemnt
  • developmennt
  • developmentt
  • developmetn
  • developmment
  • developmnet
  • developpment
  • develpoment
  • deveolpment
  • devleopment
  • devvelopment
  • dveelopment
  • edvelopment

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of development - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddevelopment1deevlopment2devellopment1develompent2developemnt2developmennt1developmentt1developmetn2
Edit distance from "development"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "development"?
"development" is spelled D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt/.
What does "development" mean?
As a noun, "development" means: The process of developing; growth, directed change.
What words are commonly confused with "development"?
"development" is commonly confused with "developmental". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "development"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "development" is /dɪˈvɛl.əp.mənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "development"?
From French développement, from Old French desvelopemens (“unrolling”). By surface analysis, develop + -ment. First attested in 1756. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "development", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

information#357performance#718association#1,041interesting#1,083

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

significant17 variantsindependent17 variantscompetition17 variantsestablished17 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list