invention

[ in-ven-shuhn ]
See synonyms for: inventioninventions on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the act of inventing.

  2. U.S. Patent Law. a new, useful process, machine, improvement, etc., that did not exist previously and that is recognized as the product of some unique intuition or genius, as distinguished from ordinary mechanical skill or craftsmanship.

  1. anything invented or devised.

  2. the power or faculty of inventing, devising, or originating.

  3. an act or instance of creating or producing by exercise of the imagination, especially in art, music, etc.

  4. something fabricated, as a false statement.

  5. Sociology. the creation of a new culture trait, pattern, etc.

  6. Music. a short piece, contrapuntal in nature, generally based on one subject.

  7. Rhetoric. (traditionally) one of the five steps in speech preparation, the process of choosing ideas appropriate to the subject, audience, and occasion.

  8. Archaic. the act of finding.

Origin of invention

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English invencio(u)n, from Latin inventiōn-, stem of inventiō “discovery, finding out”; equivalent to invent + -ion

Other words from invention

  • in·ven·tion·al, adjective
  • in·ven·tion·less, adjective
  • pre·in·ven·tion, noun
  • self-in·ven·tion, noun

Words Nearby invention

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use invention in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for invention

invention

/ (ɪnˈvɛnʃən) /


noun
  1. the act or process of inventing

  2. something that is invented

  1. patent law the discovery or production of some new or improved process or machine that is both useful and is not obvious to persons skilled in the particular field

  2. creative power or ability; inventive skill

  3. euphemistic a fabrication; lie

  4. (in traditional rhetoric) one of the five steps in preparing a speech or discourse: the process of finding suitable topics on which to talk or write

  5. music a short piece consisting of two or three parts usually in imitative counterpoint

  6. sociol the creation of a new cultural pattern or trait

Derived forms of invention

  • inventional, adjective
  • inventionless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012