invention
the act of inventing.
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.
anything invented or devised.
the power or faculty of inventing, devising, or originating.
an act or instance of creating or producing by exercise of the imagination, especially in art, music, etc.
something fabricated, as a false statement.
Sociology. the creation of a new culture trait, pattern, etc.
Music. a short piece, contrapuntal in nature, generally based on one subject.
Rhetoric. (traditionally) one of the five steps in speech preparation, the process of choosing ideas appropriate to the subject, audience, and occasion.
Archaic. the act of finding.
Origin of invention
1Other 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
Yes, keyword or contextual-based advertising is an old tactic, I am not talking about the invention of the wheel.
Five great display and video advertising tactics to increase relevance and revenue in a cookie-less world | Anastasia-Yvoni Spiliopoulou | August 24, 2020 | Search Engine WatchFrom the earliest days of the crisis, the Institute’s alumni, labs, and companies have been reworking their research and inventions to meet these pressing challenges.
Many useful inventions, he notes, combine existing technologies in such new ways.
COVID-19 victims could breathe easier with these innovations | Kathiann Kowalski | May 7, 2020 | Science News For StudentsYet their work includes approaches common to the process of invention.
Tackling the novel coronavirus calls for novel ideas | Kathiann Kowalski | May 7, 2020 | Science News For StudentsSo, for some people, invention is a way to reduce friction in their lives.
No, the tools used are just old fashioned, and the images produced are drawings, hardly a new invention.
The basic premise that Christians should expect to suffer and be persecuted is not an invention of Rev. Sproul.
All Aboard the USS Persecution Complex | Candida Moss, Joel Baden | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe maxim proved true: Necessity is the mother of invention.
The invention of farming was the initial cause of wars that created peace.
The titles of two competing 16th-century world maps nicely capture the tension between reflection and invention.
One of the simplest of these childish tricks is the invention of an excuse for not instantly obeying a command, as "Come here!"
Children's Ways | James SullyWordsworth has illustrated how an unwise and importunate demand for a reason from a child may drive him into invention.
Children's Ways | James SullyEach new invention threw thousands of hand-workers out of employment.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockDynamite, by the good fortune of invention, came to the revolutionary at the very moment when it was most wanted.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockThis epoch-making invention, introduced in 1832, rendered possible extraordinary developments.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing Miller
British Dictionary definitions for invention
/ (ɪnˈvɛnʃən) /
the act or process of inventing
something that is invented
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
creative power or ability; inventive skill
euphemistic a fabrication; lie
(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
music a short piece consisting of two or three parts usually in imitative counterpoint
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
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