The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

R and D \R and D\ ([aum]r`[a^]n*d[=e]"), n. [research and
   development.]
   research and development; -- used mostly to refer to the
   division of a corporation responsible for performing research
   and developing new products; -- a commonly used abbreviation.

   Syn: R&D. [PJC]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

22 Moby Thesaurus words for "R and D":
   control, control experiment, controlled experiment, cut and try,
   empiricism, experiment, experimental design, experimental method,
   experimental proof, experimentalism, experimentation, hit and miss,
   noble experiment, pragmatism, research and development,
   rule of thumb, tentative method, tentativeness, testing, trial,
   trial and error, trying