developer

[dih-vel-uh-per] /dɪˈvɛl ə pər/
noun
1.
a person or thing that develops.
2.
Photography. a reducing agent or solution for developing a film or the like.
3.
a person who invests in and develops the urban or suburban potentialities of real estate, especially by subdividing the land into home sites and then building houses and selling them.
4.
Shipbuilding. a person who lays out at full size the lines of a vessel and prepares templates from them.
Origin
1825-35; develop + -er1
Examples from the web for developers
  • The remnants of the building were demolished and the site was bought by developers.
  • Frequent debates and disagreements among the developers of the fair added many delays.
British Dictionary definitions for developers

developer

/dɪˈvɛləpə/
noun
1.
a person or thing that develops something, esp a person who develops property
2.
(photog) a solution of a chemical reducing agent that converts the latent image recorded in the emulsion of a film or paper into a visible image
Word Origin and History for developers

developer

n.

1833, "one who develops," agent noun from develop. Photography use attested from 1869; meaning "speculative builder" is from 1938.