developed D₂E₁V₄E₁L₁O₁P₃E₁D₂

DEVELOPED works as the past form of develop and as an adjective in its own right. The adjective senses range from wealthy and industrialized to mature, or built up with roads, sewers and buildings. A rank of 1,144 shows it is a regular in news and reports.

DEVELOPED in numbers

• Nine letters: D, E, V, E, L, O, P, E, D, with three Es and two Ds.
• Base score is 16, led by V at 4 and P at 3.
• Neighbours are DEVELOPER and DEVELOPES; no anagrams are valid.
• Frequency rank 1,144, count 11,679.

What does developed mean as an adjective?

It describes a country or economy that is wealthy and industrialized, the opposite of third-world in older usage. It also means mature, as in a developed idea, and land that carries man-made structures.

Each sense points to something that has grown past an early stage, which is why it sits easily in business and planning writing.

Can you play a nine-letter word in Scrabble?

Only with help. A rack holds seven tiles, so DEVELOPED needs two letters already on the board. Look for lanes where an existing E, L, O or D lines up with the rest.

The tiles add to 16: D2, E1, V4, E1, L1, O1, P3, E1, D2. Subtract the V and the P and the other seven tiles together carry 9 points, so the play is about placement, not raw value.

Which neighbours and rhymes are worth knowing?

DEVELOPER ends in R instead of D, and DEVELOPES swaps in S for the final D. DEVELOPES is rare, so check your game’s word list before trying it. The -PED ending matches HELPED, STOPPED, DROPPED and SHAPED in spelling.

Among 41,930 nine-letter words, 2,382 begin with D and 4,272 end in D, which is about 10 percent.