invent
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
-
to make up (falsehoods); fabricate
Related Words
See discover.
Other Word Forms
- inventable adjective
- inventible adjective
- outinvent verb (used with object)
- preinvent verb (used with object)
- self-invented adjective
- uninvented adjective
- well-invented adjective
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”; come ) + -ed 2
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.
LBC presenter James O'Brien paid tribute on air on Monday, telling listeners: "If he didn't invent the genre of radio that we all attempt to provide you with every day, then he certainly revolutionised it."
From BBC
Camite was briefly used as a riot control agent by the American police post-World War One, but was abandoned after safer options such as CS gas were invented.
From BBC
Yet there are some invented dramatic devices, including a young girl who beckons Patrick on his conversion quest.
Initially called “Fiber K” by the DuPont chemist who invented it, it was a replacement for the rubber used in women’s foundation garments, which was weighty, hot and quick to stretch out.
When the internet was in its infancy, IP addresses were invented as a way to identify devices connected to it.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
