1develop gradually: [no object]:the company has evolved into a major chemical manufacturerthe Gothic style evolvedfrom the Romanesque [with object]:each school must evolve its own way of working
(with reference to an organism or biological feature) develop over successive generations as a result of natural selection: [no object]:the domestic dog is thought to have evolved from the wolf
2 [with object] Chemistry give off (gas or heat):the energy evolved during this chemical change is transferred to water