This paper, which is based on the assumption that conceptualization is a necessary first-order task of theory construction, discusses the utility of a particular explicit definition of "development." Previous definitions of development have been hampered by a variety of weaknesses, and most current definitions are not conducive to a comparative perspective. The definition of "development" utilized in this paper is "a process or set of processes characterized by (a) the consequence of general sustained economic growth, and (b) sets of natural, human, technological, cultural, financial, and organizational conditions." Two questions will help expedite the utility of this definition: (1) Development for whom?--who is paying the costs and who is receiving the benefits?; and (2) What is the simultaneous or sequential mix, balance, or combination of conditions which is associated with the structural change or changes which have occurred? Some advantages of the definition are described, including the noteworthy one that the discipline of sociology may receive the greatest benefit or advantage from usage of the definition. (DB)