Develop vs. Grow — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 25, 2024
Develop focuses on progress through specific enhancements or expansion, while grow emphasizes natural or incremental increase in size, capabilities, or maturity.
Difference Between Develop and Grow
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Develop generally refers to the process of improving or expanding something through deliberate actions, like developing skills or technology. Whereas grow typically describes a more organic or natural increase, such as plants growing or businesses growing through increased sales.
Development often involves a structured or planned effort, aiming to achieve specific goals or innovations. On the other hand, growth can occur naturally or as a result of environmental factors, and may not always be planned or controlled.
Develop can apply to abstract concepts such as ideas, projects, or even relationships, where enhancement and evolution are emphasized. Whereas, grow is often used in contexts like biology, economy, or personal development, emphasizing increase in size, quantity, or scope.
In technology, to develop means to create and enhance software or systems through deliberate programming and design efforts. In contrast, growth in technology might refer to the adoption rate or market expansion of a technology.
In the business context, companies develop new products or strategies to enter markets or increase profitability, while they grow by increasing their market share, revenue, or employee count.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
To enhance, expand, or bring to a more advanced state.
To increase in size, quantity, or importance.
Focus
Improvement and progression through efforts.
Natural or incremental increase.
Usage Contexts
Technology, skills, infrastructure.
Biology, economy, personal development.
Typical Actions
Planning, building, innovating.
Expanding, maturing, increasing.
Outcome Orientation
Goal-directed outcomes.
Often natural or organic outcomes.
Compare with Definitions
Develop
To cause to grow or expand.
New policies are developed to enhance public health.
Grow
To cause to grow or increase.
They grow crops in the rich, fertile soil.
Develop
To improve the quality or potency of.
The athlete develops his skills through rigorous training.
Grow
To become gradually or increasingly.
She grows tired as the night progresses.
Develop
To bring from latency to or toward fulfillment.
They develop the project from an initial idea to a market-ready product.
Grow
To increase by natural development.
The child grows more confident with each performance.
Develop
To create or produce especially by deliberate effort over time.
The company develops software tailored to educational institutions.
Grow
To expand by a natural process.
Crystals grow in the cave over millennia.
Develop
To go through a process of natural growth.
The photographer develops his personal style over years of experimentation.
Grow
To develop from a parent source.
The new branch grows from the main stem.
Develop
Grow or cause to grow and become more mature, advanced, or elaborate
Enabling individuals to develop their personal skills
Motion pictures were to develop into mass entertainment
Grow
(of a living thing) undergo natural development by increasing in size and changing physically
He would watch Nick grow to manhood
Grown men don't act so stupidly
Develop
Start to exist, experience, or possess
A strange closeness developed
Call the doctor if your child develops a rash
I developed an interest in law
Grow
Become larger or greater over a period of time; increase
Turnover grew to more than $100,000 within three years
Develop
Treat (a photographic film) with chemicals to make a visible image
She came to get the film developed
Grow
Become gradually or increasingly
Sharing our experiences we grew braver
Develop
Bring (a piece) into play from its initial position on a player's back rank
He preferred to develop his bishop on e7
Grow
To increase in size by a natural process.
Develop
To bring from latency to or toward fulfillment
An instructor who develops the capabilities of each student.
Grow
To expand; gain
The business grew under new owners.
Develop
To expand or enlarge
Developed a national corporation into a worldwide business.
Grow
To increase in amount or degree; intensify
The suspense grew.
Develop
To aid in the growth of; strengthen
Exercises that develop muscles.
Grow
To develop and reach maturity.
Develop
To improve the quality of; refine
Develops his recipes to perfection.
An extra year of study to develop virtuosic technique.
Grow
To be capable of growth; thrive
A plant that grows in shade.
Develop
To cause to become more complex or intricate; add detail and fullness to; elaborate
Began with a good premise but developed it without imagination.
Grow
To become attached by or as if by the process of growth
Tree trunks that had grown together.
Develop
(Music) To elaborate (a theme) with rhythmic and harmonic variations.
Grow
To come into existence from a source; spring up
Love that grew from friendship.
Develop
To bring into being gradually
Develop a new cottage industry.
Grow
To come to be by a gradual process or by degrees; become
Grow angry.
Grow closer.
Develop
To set forth or clarify by degrees
Developed her thesis in a series of articles.
Grow
To cause to grow; raise
Grow tulips.
Develop
To come to have gradually; acquire
Develop a taste for opera.
Develop a friendship.
Grow
To allow (something) to develop or increase by a natural process
Grow a beard.
Develop
To become affected with; contract
Developed a rash.
Developed agoraphobia.
Grow
Usage Problem To cause to increase or expand by concerted effort
Strategies that grew the family business.
Develop
To influence the behavior of toward a specific end
An investigator who develops witnesses through flattery and intimidation.
Grow
(ergative) To become larger, to increase in magnitude.
Children grow quickly.
Develop
To cause (a tract of land or a building) to serve a particular purpose
Developed the site as a community of condominiums.
Grow
To undergo growth; to be present somewhere
Apples now grow all over the world.
Develop
To make available and effective to fulfill a particular end or need
Develop the state's water resources to serve a growing population.
Grow
(intransitive) To appear or sprout.
Leaf buds grew on the trees with the advance of spring.
A long tail began to grow from his backside.
Develop
To convert or transform
Developed the play into a movie.
Grow
(intransitive) To develop, to mature.
As I grew throughout adolescence, I came to appreciate many things about human nature.
Develop
(Games) To move (a chess piece) to or toward a more strategic position.
Grow
(transitive) To cause or allow something to become bigger, especially to cultivate plants.
He grows peppers and squash each summer in his garden.
Have you ever grown your hair before?
Develop
To process (a photosensitive medium such as exposed film) in order to produce a photographic image.
Grow
(copulative) To assume a condition or quality over time.
The boy grew wise as he matured.
The town grew smaller and smaller in the distance as we travelled.
You have grown strong.
Develop
To produce (a photographic image) by use of a photosensitive medium or by printing from a digital file.
Grow
To become attached or fixed; to adhere.
Develop
To grow by degrees into a more advanced or mature state
With hard work, she developed into a great writer.
Grow
To increase in size by a natural and organic process; to increase in bulk by the gradual assimilation of new matter into the living organism; - said of animals and vegetables and their organs.
Develop
To increase or expand
Sales developed until we needed a bigger warehouse.
Grow
To increase in any way; to become larger and stronger; to be augmented; to advance; to extend; to wax; to accrue.
Winter began to grow fast on.
Even just the sum that I do owe to youIs growing to me by Antipholus.
Develop
To improve; advance
Their skill developed until it rivaled their teacher's.
Grow
To spring up and come to maturity in a natural way; to be produced by vegetation; to thrive; to flourish; as, rice grows in warm countries.
Where law faileth, error groweth.
Develop
To come gradually into existence or activity
Tension developed between students and faculty.
Grow
To pass from one state to another; to result as an effect from a cause; to become; as, to grow pale.
For his mindHad grown Suspicion's sanctuary.
Develop
To come gradually to light; be disclosed
Reports the news as it develops.
Grow
To become attached or fixed; to adhere.
Our knees shall kneel till to the ground they grow.
These wars have grown out of commercial considerations.
Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of a life cycle
Caterpillars develop into butterflies.
Grow
To cause to grow; to cultivate; to produce; as, to grow a crop; to grow wheat, hops, or tobacco.
Develop
To progress from earlier to later stages of evolution
Mammals developed during the Mesozoic Era.
Grow
Pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become;
The weather turned nasty
She grew angry
Develop
To discover, find out; to uncover.
Grow
Become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain;
The problem grew too large for me
Her business grew fast
Develop
(intransitive) To change with a specific direction, progress.
Let's see how things develop and then make our decision.
Grow
Increase in size by natural process;
Corn doesn't grow here
In these forests, mushrooms grow under the trees
Develop
(ambitransitive) To progress through a sequence of stages.
Isabel developed from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a hurricane.
An embryo develops into a fetus and then into an infant.
Grow
Cause to grow or develop;
He grows vegetables in his backyard
Develop
(transitive) To advance; to further; to promote the growth of.
Grow
Develop and reach maturity; undergo maturation;
He matured fast
The child grew fast
Develop
(transitive) To create.
I need to develop a plan for the next three weeks.
Grow
Come into existence; take on form or shape;
A new religious movement originated in that country
A love that sprang up from friendship
The idea for the book grew out of a short story
An interesting phenomenon uprose
Develop
(transitive) To bring out images latent in photographic film.
Please develop this roll of film.
Grow
Cultivate by growing, often involving improvements by means of agricultural techniques;
The Bordeaux region produces great red wines
They produce good ham in Parma
We grow wheat here
We raise hogs here
Develop
(transitive) To acquire something usually over a period of time.
I have been in England enough to develop a British accent.
You will develop calluses if you play the cello.
She developed bad eating habits.
Grow
Grow emotionally or mature;
The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten
When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior
Develop
To place one's pieces actively.
I need to develop my white-square bishop.
Grow
Become attached by or as if by the process of growth;
The tree trunks had grown together
Develop
To cause a ball to become more open and available to be played on later. Usually by moving it away from the cushion, or by opening a pack.
Develop
(math) To change the form of (an algebraic expression, etc.) by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
Develop
To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse power.
These serve to develop its tenets.
The 20th was spent in strengthening our position and developing the line of the enemy.
Develop
To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages, each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop the bud into a flower; to develop the mind.
The sound developed itself into a real compound.
All insects . . . acquire the jointed legs before the wings are fully developed.
Develop
To advance; to further; to prefect; to make to increase; to promote the growth of.
We must develop our own resources to the utmost.
Develop
To change the form of, as of an algebraic expression, by executing certain indicated operations without changing the value.
Develop
To cause to become visible, as an invisible or latent image upon plate, by submitting it to chemical agents; to bring to view.
Develop
To go through a process of natural evolution or growth, by successive changes from a less perfect to a more perfect or more highly organized state; to advance from a simpler form of existence to one more complex either in structure or function; as, a blossom develops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embryo develops into a well-formed animal; the mind develops year by year.
Nor poets enough to understandThat life develops from within.
Develop
To become apparent gradually; as, a picture on sensitive paper develops on the application of heat; the plans of the conspirators develop.
Develop
Make something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation;
Her company developed a new kind of building material that withstands all kinds of weather
They developed a new technique
Develop
Work out;
We have developed a new theory of evolution
Develop
Gain through experience;
I acquired a strong aversion to television
Children must develop a sense of right and wrong
Dave developed leadership qualities in his new position
Develop a passion for painting
Develop
Come into existence; take on form or shape;
A new religious movement originated in that country
A love that sprang up from friendship
The idea for the book grew out of a short story
An interesting phenomenon uprose
Develop
Change the use of and make available or usable;
Develop land
The country developed its natural resources
The remote areas of the country were gradually built up
Develop
Elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses;
Could you develop the ideas in your thesis
Develop
Create by training and teaching;
The old master is training world-class violinists
We develop the leaders for the future
Develop
Be gradually disclosed or unfolded; become manifest;
The plot developed slowly
Develop
Grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment;
A flower developed on the branch
The country developed into a mighty superpower
The embryo develops into a fetus
This situation has developed over a long time
Develop
Become technologically advanced;
Many countries in Asia are now developing at a very fast pace
Viet Nam is modernizing rapidly
Develop
Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development;
The perfect climate here develops the grain
He developed a new kind of apple
Develop
Generate gradually;
We must develop more potential customers
Develop a market for the new mobile phone
Develop
Grow emotionally or mature;
The child developed beautifully in her new kindergarten
When he spent a summer at camp, the boy grew noticeably and no longer showed some of his old adolescent behavior
Develop
Make visible by means of chemical solutions;
Please develop this roll of film for me
Develop
Superimpose a three-dimensional surface on a plane without stretching, in geometry
Develop
Move one's pieces into strategically more advantageous positions;
Spassky developed quickly
Develop
Move into a strategically more advantageous position;
Develop the rook
Develop
Elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme;
Develop the melody and change the key
Develop
Happen;
Report the news as it develops
These political movements recrudesce from time to time
Develop
Expand in the form of a series;
Develop the function in the following form
Common Curiosities
How does growth occur in a natural context?
Growth occurs through natural or organic processes, without deliberate intervention.
What is the main focus of developing something?
Developing focuses on deliberate enhancements and improvements.
What does it mean to develop a skill?
Developing a skill means improving or refining it through practice and learning.
Can both develop and grow be used interchangeably in business?
In business, develop usually refers to specific improvements or innovations, while grow refers to increase in size or market presence.
What is implied when a business is growing?
A growing business is increasing in aspects like revenue, size, or market share.
Does develop always involve physical changes?
Develop often involves abstract improvements, not just physical changes.
Can personal growth be planned?
Personal growth can sometimes be planned, though it often involves natural progression and experiences.
Can a relationship grow and develop?
Yes, relationships can grow in intimacy and develop through efforts and experiences.
What indicates a developed country?
A developed country features advanced infrastructure, economy, and services.
What is the difference between growing pain and developing issues?
Growing pains are natural discomforts as one grows, whereas developing issues are complications arising from development efforts.
What is necessary for a technology to develop?
Technology development requires innovation, design efforts, and programming.
How does an economy grow?
An economy grows by increasing its production, services, and consumption.
What does it mean to develop land?
Developing land involves planning and constructing buildings or infrastructure.
How do skills grow?
Skills grow in proficiency and depth through continuous practice and application.
Is it correct to say a plant develops?
It's more accurate to say a plant grows, as it increases in size naturally.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
