overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

evolve.

To move (something) in regular procession through a system.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ɪˈvɒlv/Received-Pronunciation/ɪˈvɑlv/General-American/-ˈvɔlv/General-American/iˈ-/General-American
  1. To move (something) in regular procession through a system.

    transitive
  2. To change or transform (something).

    transitive
    Over several years the author evolved the story originally drafted as a novella into a real epic.
  3. To cause (something) to come into being or develop.

    transitive
  4. To acquire or develop (a trait) in the process of biological evolution.

    transitive · usually
    How long ago did birds evolve beaks?
  5. To change genetic composition over successive generations through the process of evolution.

    intransitive · transitive · usually
    A hundred thousand years from now, will Homo sapiens have evolved into beings unrecognizable to their ancestors?
  6. To give off (a gas such as carbon dioxide or oxygen) during a chemical reaction.

    transitive
    to evolve odours
  7. To wind or unwind (something).

    obsolete · transitive
  8. To move in regular procession through a system.

    intransitive
  9. To change, to transform.

    intransitive
    What began as a few lines of code has now evolved into a million-line behemoth.
  10. Of a trait; to develop within a population through biological evolution.

    intransitive
    How long ago did beaks evolve?
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Latin ēvolvō (“unroll, unfold”), from ē- (“out of”) (short form of ex) + volvō (“roll”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

evolve has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

evolve studioevolve workshello, evolve

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.