How to spell develop

hear itde·vel·op/dɪ'vɛləp/verbLong vowels

What it means: To grow or change over time.

In a sentence: The caterpillar will develop into a beautiful butterfly.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as develope or developp.

Same family: developed, developing, development, developer, undeveloped. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Develop” comes from Old French *desveloper*, meaning “to unwrap” or “unfold.” The idea of unwrapping something hidden is still in the modern meaning: when you develop a skill or idea, you help it slowly unfold and grow.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

phenomenon · invitation · possible · increase · reason · consider · method · knowledge

Spelling.School is a spaced-repetition spelling practice: ten minutes a day, every word spoken aloud, every miss explained, and every word coming back just before you would forget it. Try five words without signing up.