Dictionary

developer en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /dɪˈvɛləpə(ɹ)/ (UK)
• /dɪˈvɛləpɚ/ (US)
• /dəˈvɛləpɚ/ weak vowel merger
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des- Proto-Indo-European *werb-der. Proto-Germanic *wrappan-der. Vulgar Latin *vlopp-der. Old French veloper Middle French desveloper French développerbor. English develop Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English developer From develop + -er.

Meanings

1. A person or entity engaged in the creation or improvement of certain classes of products.
2. A real estate developer; a person or company who prepares a parcel of land for sale, or creates structures on that land.
   • [Donald Trump] would repeat this point three more times over the course of several hours, as if pleading with his counterparties to see fiscal reason. (Religious fanatics, alas, do not always respond to the same incentives as New York developers.) 2026 April 23, Jonathan Chait, “The Posting Will Continue Until Morale Improves”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
   • Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion." 2013 June 21, Chico Harlan, “After Fukushima, Japan beginning to see the light in solar energy”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30:
3. A film developer; a person who uses chemicals to create photographs from photograph negatives.
4. A liquid used in the chemical processing of traditional photos.
5. A reagent used to produce an ingrain color by its action upon some substance on the fiber.
6. A software developer; a person or company who creates or modifies computer software.
   • More important, when we looked at who worked in that industry, we noticed that programmers were in the minority. They’re dwarfed by, among other occupations, the software developers. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but the jobs follow very different trajectories. Nationwide, software developers haven’t struggled nearly as much as their programming brethren — few other computer-related occupations have. So what makes programmers different? To answer that, we need to dive forehead first into everybody’s favorite part of any analysis: arcane occupation definitions! Upon perusing the fine print, we saw that while programmers do in fact program, they “work from specifications drawn up by software and web developers or other individuals.” That seems like a clue. In the real world, “developer” and “programmer” can seem almost interchangeable. But in the world of government statistics, where we have legal permanent residency, there’s a clear distinction. In the [US] government’s schema, programmers do the grunt work while the much more numerous — and much faster-growing — software developers enjoy a broader remit. They figure out what clients need, design solutions and work with folks such as programmers and hardware engineers to implement them. Their pay reflects this gap in responsibilities. The median programmer earned $99,700 in 2023, compared with $132,270 for the median developer. And while 27.5 percent of programming jobs vanished, jobs for developers have only fallen 0.3 percent, similar to the broader industry. 2025 March 14, Andrew Van Dam, “Department of Data: More than a quarter of computer-programming jobs just vanished. What happened? Learning to code was supposedly the salvation of millions of liberal art majors. But now programming jobs are plummeting. The Post’s Department of Data tries to figure out what’s going on”, in Washington Post:

Forms

Coordinates

designer · software architect · programmer[Appendix:Glossary · software engineer[Appendix:Glossary

Deriveds

interdeveloper · developer experience · predeveloper · codeveloper · developer program · megadeveloper · developer exit · web developer

Relateds

develop · developmental · development

Translations (180)

ca desenvolupadora (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · bn নির্মাতা (software programmer) · sk vývojka (liquid used in chemical film processing) · lt kūrėja (software programmer) · es desarrollador (software programmer) · tr developman maddesi (liquid used in chemical film processing) · ja プログラマー (software programmer) · cs vývojář (software programmer) · it liquido per sviluppare (liquid used in chemical film processing) · es desarrolladora (software programmer) · he מְפַתֵּחַ (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · fr développateur (liquid used in chemical film processing) · hy կառուցապատող (real estate developer) · ca desenvolupador (software programmer) · ca revelador (liquid used in chemical film processing) · fr promoteur (real estate developer) · ru разрабо́тчик (software programmer) · ru разрабо́тчица (software programmer) · ka შემქმნელი (software programmer) · bg програми́ст (software programmer) · it sviluppatore (film developer) · fa-ira سازَنْدِه (software programmer) · lv izstrādātājs (software programmer) · da udvikler (software programmer) · mk развивачка (software programmer) · id pengembang (real estate developer) · pl deweloper (real estate developer) · it sviluppatore di software (software programmer) · et arendaja (real estate developer) · tg тавсеадиҳанда (software programmer) · tg тавлидкунанда (software programmer) · vi nhà phát triển phần mềm (software programmer) · pt revelador (liquid used in chemical film processing) · hu fejlesztő (real estate developer) · nl ontwikkelaar (film developer) · es desarrollador (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · sv utvecklare (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ru деве́лопер (real estate developer) · bg прояви́тел (liquid used in chemical film processing) · nl ontwikkelaar (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · fr révélateur (film developer) · ru программи́стка (software programmer) · ru разрабо́тчик (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · es programador de software (software programmer) · fi kiinteistönkehittäjä (real estate developer) · ka დეველოპერი (software programmer) · fr développeur (software programmer) · pt desenvolvedor (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ms pemaju (real estate developer) · uk деве́лопер (real estate developer) · sq zhvilluese (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · be распрацо́ўшчык (software programmer) · hu fejlesztő (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · yi אַנטוויקלער (film developer) · it sviluppatore (software programmer) · ru прояви́тель (liquid used in chemical film processing) · sq zhvillues (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · gl desenvolvedora (software programmer) · fr (-analyste) programmeur (software programmer) · de Entwicklerin (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · my ဖန်တီးသူ (software programmer) · et arendaja (software programmer) · fi kehitin (liquid used in chemical film processing) · ms pembangun perisian (software programmer) · pl programista (software programmer) · nl ontwikkelaar (software programmer) · tr geliştirici (software programmer) · ca desenvolupador (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · de Entwickler (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ro constructor (real estate developer) · ro developator (liquid used in chemical film processing) · cmn 開發人員 /开发人员 (software programmer) · nl projectontwikkelaar (real estate developer) · it sviluppatrice (software programmer) · sk vývojárka (software programmer) · lv izstrādātāja (software programmer) · tr yazılım uzmanı (software programmer) · de Entwickler (liquid used in chemical film processing) · bg програми́стка (software programmer) · hi डेवलपर (software programmer) · sk vývojár (software programmer) · mk развивач (software programmer) · bg разрабо́тчик (software programmer) · hu fejlesztő (software programmer) · ko 현상액 (liquid used in chemical film processing) · da programmør (software programmer) · ro programator (software programmer) · hu előhívó (film developer) · ar مُطَوِّر (software programmer) · es revelador (liquid used in chemical film processing) · lv izstrādātājas (software programmer) · pl wywoływacz (liquid used in chemical film processing) · da udvikler (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ja 開発者 (software programmer) · fa-ira فیلْمساز (film developer) · fi rakennuttaja (real estate developer) · fi devaaja (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ro dezvoltator (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ta மேம்பாட்டாளர் (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · de Projektentwickler (real estate developer) · ko 개발자 (software programmer) · ro revelator (liquid used in chemical film processing) · fi devaaja (software programmer) · de Entwicklerin (software programmer) · fi kehittäjä (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ms ڤماجو (real estate developer) · ro developer (software programmer) · hu előhívó (liquid used in chemical film processing) · fr créateur (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · es promotor (real estate developer) · ko 프로그래머 (software programmer) · gl desenvolvedor (software programmer) · pl deweloper (software programmer) · cs vývojka (liquid used in chemical film processing) · lv izstrādātāji (software programmer) · he יַזָּם (real estate developer) · he קַבְּלָן (real estate developer) · fi tuotekehittäjä (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · lt kūrėjas (software programmer) · bn ডেভেলপার (software programmer) · tr film banyosu ilacı (film developer) · uk розро́бник (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · fr développeur (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · pt desenvolvedor (software programmer) · mi kaiwhakawhanake (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · sa व्युत्पादक (software programmer) · he מְפַתֵּחַ (software programmer) · lo ນັກພັດທະນາ (software programmer) · nl promotor (real estate developer) · es constructor (real estate developer) · uk розро́бниця (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · vi nhà phát triển (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · uk розро́бниця (software programmer) · ta மென்பொருள் மேம்பாட்டாளர் (software programmer) · ja 現像液 (liquid used in chemical film processing) · sv mjukvaruutvecklare (software programmer) · nl (-analist) programmeur (software programmer) · de Entwickler (film developer) · de Entwickler (software programmer) · nb utvikler (software programmer) · sa व्युत्पादका (software programmer) · nl ontwerper (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · pt desenvolvedora (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · fi kehittäjä (software programmer) · th นักพัฒนา (software programmer) · bg разрабо́тчик (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ru застро́йщик (real estate developer) · fi ohjelmoija (software programmer) · it sviluppatore (real estate developer) · cmn 程序員 /程序员 (software programmer) · hy մշակող (software programmer) · cmn 顯影劑 /显影剂 (liquid used in chemical film processing) · fi (filmin) kehittäjä (film developer) · pl programistka (software programmer) · it sviluppatrice (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · pt desenvolvedora (software programmer) · ca desenvolupadora (software programmer) · cs developer (real estate developer) · be распрацо́ўшчыца (software programmer) · hi विकासक (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · uk забудо́вник (real estate developer) · ms pembangun (software programmer) · it sviluppatore (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · es desarrolladora (software programmer) · id developer (real estate developer) · km អ្នកអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ (software programmer) · ru программи́ст (software programmer) · nl ontwikkelaar (liquid used in chemical film processing) · ka პროგრამისტი (software programmer) · sv utvecklare (software programmer) · gl revelador (liquid used in chemical film processing) · ro creator (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · fr concepteur (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · it sviluppatore (liquid used in chemical film processing) · cs vývojářka (software programmer) · de Bauunternehmer (real estate developer) · uk розро́бник (software programmer) · fa-ira تُولیدْکُنَنْدِه (software programmer) · tr geliştirici (someone engaged in product creation and improvement) · ru разрабо́тчица (someone engaged in product creation and improvement)

wikidata: Q183888