invade
Americanverb (used with object)
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to enter forcefully as an enemy; go into with hostile intent.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
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to enter like an enemy.
Locusts invaded the fields.
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to enter as if to take possession.
to invade a neighbor's home.
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to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease.
viruses that invade the bloodstream.
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to intrude upon.
to invade the privacy of a family.
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to encroach or infringe upon.
to invade the rights of citizens.
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to permeate.
The smell of baking invades the house.
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to penetrate; spread into or over.
The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to enter (a country, territory, etc) by military force
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(tr) to occupy in large numbers; overrun; infest
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(tr) to trespass or encroach upon (privacy, etc)
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(tr) to enter and spread throughout, esp harmfully; pervade
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(of plants, esp weeds) to become established in (a place to which they are not native)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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invadernoun
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reinvadeverb (used with object)
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invadableadjective
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quasi-invadedadjective
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uninvadableadjective
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uninvadedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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invadesimple
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invadessimple
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have invadedperfect
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has invadedperfect
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am invadingprogressive
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are invadingprogressive
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is invadingprogressive
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have been invadingperfect progressive
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has been invadingperfect progressive
Past
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invadedsimple
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had invadedperfect
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was invadingprogressive
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were invadingprogressive
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had been invadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of invade
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin invādere, from in- in- 2 + vādere “to go, walk” ( see also wade)
Explanation
When you Invade, you aggressively take over or occupy a place. If a country's leader wants to gain more land, the military might invade a neighboring country. Not everything that invades is militaristic. Some things that invade are cultural, such as the phenomena of young, stylish people moving into a neighborhood that had never been thought of as cool before. In an instant, new restaurants and shops catering to the newcomers open and soon the area is overrun with people wearing, say, skinny jeans and complicated eyewear. Natives to the area lament, "This place has been invaded by hipsters."
Vocabulary lists containing invade
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Bronx Masquerade
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
In 2023, then-CIA director William Burns predicted China would be ready to invade by 2027.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Constitutional privacy is not lost because the government chooses to invade it one fragment at a time.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
“The kind of war to which we were used, the kind of war that Russia had in mind in Ukraine—to invade and occupy a nation—is no longer conceivable,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Their work helps answer longstanding questions about how these viruses launch replication once they invade a cell.
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026
The clouds still circled the sky, threatening to invade at any moment, but for now the sun shone bravely in its halo of blue sky.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
A rowdy card of mixed-martial arts invades the South Lawn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Researchers led by Tajie Harris, PhD, set out to understand how the immune system responds when Toxoplasma invades CD8+ T cells, which are specialized immune cells responsible for killing infected cells.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026
If the United States invades Greenland, she will flee her home with her daughter.
From Barron's ● Jan. 17, 2026
The fungus invades the skin tissue of hibernating bats and causes them to wake too often or too early during winter, depleting their precious fat stores when there’s scant food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024
The old blue hopelessness invades my sleep and I’m crossing the river, looking back at the faces of children begging for food, “Cadeaux! Cadeaux!”
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Fedorova, 45, is the former head of the French arm of RT, which was banned in France after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Cambridgeshire Constabulary says it was "very stretched" on the January day last year when Mathew Latta's farm was invaded, and the force says it did not respond the way it would have wanted.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
A tranquil opening shot consists of a beautiful seaside view that’s quickly invaded by buzzing drones carrying packages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
One thing is certain: The real-world headaches and benefits of mobile technology have invaded the happiest place on Earth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
In Africa, French and British troops invaded the German protectorate of Togoland, while German forces attacked the British colony of South Africa.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Translated into constitutional terms, Minnesota argued that the surge violated federalist principles by invading the state’s reserved police powers: the broad authority to govern public health, safety, welfare, and order.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Perhaps it should surprise no-one that a country whose national anthem reminisces about sending an invading English army homeward "tae think again" does not stand four-square behind the "Auld Enemy".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The prince gave emotional testimony during the proceedings in which several high-profile figures, including singer Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, accused the tabloid publisher of invading their privacy.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Many conservation groups believe England's red squirrel population is close to extinction and the data captured by the cameras during the two year project will detect threats from invading greys early.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
“Well, he’s begun by invading the Republic,” said Ogunwe.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
