invert

[ verb in-vurt; adjective, noun in-vurt ]
See synonyms for: invertinverted on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to turn upside down.

  2. to reverse in position, order, direction, or relationship.

  1. to turn or change to the opposite or contrary, as in nature, bearing, or effect: to invert a process.

  2. to turn inward or back upon itself.

  3. to turn inside out.

  4. Chemistry. to subject to a reaction in which a starting material of one optical configuration forms a product of the opposite configuration.

  5. Music. to subject to musical inversion, the transposition between the upper voice part and the lower.

  6. Phonetics. to articulate as a retroflex vowel.

verb (used without object)
  1. Chemistry. to undergo a reaction in which a starting material of one optical configuration forms a product of the opposite configuration.

adjective
  1. Chemistry. subjected to a reaction in which a starting material of one optical configuration forms a product of the opposite configuration.

noun
  1. a person or thing that is reversed in position, changed to the contrary, or turned upside down, inside out, or inward.

  2. (in plumbing) that portion of the interior of a drain or sewer pipe where the liquid is deepest.

  1. a U-shaped arch or vault, having the opposite vertical orientation compared to a traditional arch or vault.

  2. Philately. a two-colored postage stamp with all or part of the central design printed upside down in relation to the inscription.

  3. Psychiatry. (no longer in technical use)

    • a gay person.

    • a person whose behavior is considered nonnormative for their assigned sex, historically involving both gender non-conforming or transgender expression and gay or lesbian sexual orientation.

  4. Disparaging and Offensive. anyone whose sexuality or gender expression is regarded as strange or unnatural, especially a gay or transgender person.

  5. Informal. (especially among aquarists) invertebrate: My invert tank is mostly sea slugs, but I bought a couple of shrimp recently also.

Origin of invert

1
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin invertere “to turn upside down or inside out,” equivalent to in- “in” + vertere “to turn”; see in-2, verse

synonym study For invert

2. See reverse.

Other words from invert

  • in·vert·i·ble, adjective
  • non·in·vert·ed, adjective
  • un·in·vert·ed, adjective

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

How to use invert in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for invert

invert

verb(ɪnˈvɜːt)
  1. to turn or cause to turn upside down or inside out

  2. (tr) to reverse in effect, sequence, direction, etc

  1. (tr) phonetics

    • to turn (the tip of the tongue) up and back

    • to pronounce (a speech sound) by retroflexion

  2. logic to form the inverse of a categorial proposition

noun(ˈɪnvɜːt)
  1. psychiatry

    • a person who adopts the role of the opposite sex

    • another word for homosexual

  2. architect

    • the lower inner surface of a drain, sewer, etc: Compare soffit (def. 2)

    • an arch that is concave upwards, esp one used in foundations

Origin of invert

1
C16: from Latin invertere, from in- ² + vertere to turn

Derived forms of invert

  • invertible, adjective
  • invertibility, noun

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