invent
Americanverb (used with object)
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invents,
present (3rd person singular)
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invented,
past participle, past
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inventing
present participle
-
to originate or create as a product of one's own ingenuity, experimentation, or contrivance.
to invent the telegraph.
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to produce or create with the imagination.
to invent a story.
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to make up or fabricate (something fictitious or false).
to invent excuses.
- Synonyms:
- concoct
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Archaic. to come upon; find.
verb
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to create or devise (new ideas, machines, etc)
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to make up (falsehoods); fabricate
Synonym Usage
See discover.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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outinventverb (used with object)
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preinventverb (used with object)
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inventableadjective
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inventibleadjective
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self-inventedadjective
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uninventedadjective
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well-inventedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inventsimple
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inventssimple
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have inventedperfect
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has inventedperfect
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am inventingprogressive
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are inventingprogressive
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is inventingprogressive
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have been inventingperfect progressive
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has been inventingperfect progressive
Past
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inventedsimple
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had inventedperfect
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was inventingprogressive
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were inventingprogressive
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had been inventingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of invent
First recorded in 1425–75; back formation from late Middle English invented (past participle) “found, discovered,” from Latin invent(us) “encountered” (past participle of invenīre “to come upon, encounter, find,” from in- in- 2 + venīre “to come”; see also come) + -ed 2
Explanation
To invent is to create for the first time or make up. If you tell your friends that you invented the electric guitar, you are inventing a pretty unbelievable story about your past. When you think of the word invent, think of Thomas Alva Edison who invented the long-lasting light bulb, the motion picture camera, the phonograph, and the stock ticker. That's a lot of inventions! You couldn't invent a better story of American ingenuity, could you?
Vocabulary lists containing invent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Alongside his hallmark invention, Casher helped develop, invent and popularize the Ecco-Fonic, a compact tape echo system, the Fender Electronic Echo Chamber and the Roland Guitar Synthesizer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Pop Mart didn't invent blind boxes but its dolls certainly helped to popularise them around the world.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Contributors rewrite endings, invent romances or give minor characters their own adventures, then share them online for free.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2026
"These retrons operate with Rube Goldberg-level complexity, using molecular mechanisms that we would never have thought to invent, but that we'll use in future technologies."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
“It isn’t Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, or Carnegie. Your daddy didn’t invent Coca-Cola and I didn’t recently discover King Solomon’s mines.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
"Our work is a prime example of how evolution seldom invents things from scratch," says Daniel Kronauer, head of the Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior at Rockefeller.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
Peter’s inner despair gets externalized when he invents a genetic inhibitor neck implant to tamp down his sensitivity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
What’s your role in “The Miniature Wife”? I play Lindy Littlejohn, whose spouse invents technology that shrinks fresh produce and, accidentally, me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
In 2052, a celebrated neuroscientist invents an affordable panacea for suffering that’s soon embraced by the entire human race.
From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2025
Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
The special film was jointly invented by researchers at Caltech and the University of Pennsylvania, where the collaborating team was led by Professor Igor Bargatin.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
"It's like after 2007 when Apple invented the iPhone. Nokia started coming out with good smartphones by 2009, 2010, but it was too late, people just didn't think of them as smartphone-makers."
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Inside his trailer, he deployed a tool he invented: a broom handle wrapped in paper towels and duct tape, lovingly dubbed the “magic ferret plunger.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
There are the usual customizations in the name of drama, and, of course, many invented conversations; there are speeches whose corniness the actors manage to mask.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to practice a habit he’d invented to settle down after a bad dream.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
A separate team at Cornell University found that researchers were using AI to compile citations, and that it was inventing bogus research, with around 147,000 pieces of phantom research cited last year.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Ron says I’m inventing reasons because I’m scared of change.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
Barnum-like qualities in terms of inventing a character for himself to play.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
Early in the previous century, a classics teacher writing under her first and middle names, Richmal Crompton, began inventing tales of the pesky 11-year-old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
But aside from inventing a Latinate name for a vague principle, Wolff could provide no further specifics.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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