invasion

American  

[in-vey-zhuhn] / ɪnˈveɪ ʒən /

noun

1. an act or instance of invading or entering as an enemy, especially by an army.

2. the entrance or advent of anything troublesome or harmful, as disease.

3. entrance as if to take possession or overrun.

   the annual invasion of the resort by tourists.

4. infringement by intrusion.

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invasion British  

/ ɪnˈveɪʒən /

noun

1. the act of invading with armed forces

2. any encroachment or intrusion

   an invasion of rats

3. the onset or advent of something harmful, esp of a disease

4. pathol the spread of cancer from its point of origin into surrounding tissues

5. the movement of plants to a new area or to an area to which they are not native

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Other Word Forms

• preinvasion
  adjective
• reinvasion
  noun

Etymology

Origin of invasion

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin invāsīon- (stem of invāsiō ), equivalent to invās ( us ), past participle of invādere + -iōn- -ion; see invade

Explanation

An invasion is the movement of an army into a region, usually in a hostile attack that's part of a war or conflict. World history is full of descriptions of invasions. One country's army plundering or taking over a city or piece of land in another country is an invasion. You can call other mass movements invasions as well, like a horrifying invasion of your kitchen by cockroaches, or the invasion of a stadium by excited soccer fans. A common phrase is "invasion of privacy," which means an unfair intrusion into someone's personal space or private information.

Example Sentences

Mr. Gould convincingly argues that the British Invasion encoded “a distinct strain of art-school sensibility into the archetype of a ‘rock group.’”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

He played Georgio, the waiter in the crumbling hotel, in Carry On Abroad in 1972, and also killed daleks and cybermen in the 1966 Dr Who movie Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.

From BBC • Aug. 10, 2025

You could just as easily claim that the Beatles should have been deported because of the "British Invasion" of 1964.

From Salon • May 12, 2025

“Yes, Invasion Day is the reason why we’re all here today, but we must go beyond that,” said Mililma May, who runs the group, a nonprofit called Uprising of the People.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2024

The combined Allied forces’ Normandy Invasion in June 1944 is famous the world over.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• aggression
• assault
• breach
• incursion
• infiltration
• infringement
• intrusion
• offensive
• onslaught
• raid
• violation