The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word GESTATION
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
G
E
S
T
A
T
I
O
N
More clues leading to the result GESTATION
- Set-back for one place in development
- Development, say, around transport hub
- Time when women are expecting to age isn’t fantastic
- Almost get post during development phase
- Development of gallstone gutted Victoria, for one
- Good English post is months in development
- Middle-aged position on time taken for growth
- Development over time, say, up at Waterloo perhaps
- Development in East got rebuilt
- Playing, gets into a baby carriage
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Development over time" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case development over time = gestation.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does GESTATION mean?
GESTATION noun- The period of time during which an infant animal or human physically develops inside the mother's body until it is born.
- The process of development of a plan or idea.