create

American  

[kree-eyt] / kriˈeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• creates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• created,
  past participle,  past
• creating
  present participle

1. to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes.

2. to evolve from one's own thought or imagination, as a work of art or an invention.

   Synonyms:

   invent, contrive, devise, initiate, originate

3. Theater. to perform (a role) for the first time or in the first production of a play.

4. to make by investing with new rank or by designating; constitute; appoint.

   to create a peer.

5. to be the cause or occasion of; give rise to.

   The announcement created confusion.

6. to cause to happen; bring about; arrange, as by intention or design.

   to create a revolution; to create an opportunity to ask for a raise.

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verb (used without object)

• creates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• created,
  past participle,  past
• creating
  present participle

1. to do something creative or constructive.

2. British. to make a fuss.

adjective

1. Archaic. created.

create British  

/ kriːˈeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to cause to come into existence

2. (tr) to invest with a new honour, office, or title; appoint

3. (tr) to be the cause of

   these circumstances created the revolution

4. (tr) to act (a role) in the first production of a play

5. (intr) to be engaged in creative work

6. slang (intr) to make a fuss or uproar

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercreate
  verb (used with object)
• creatable
  adjective
• self-creating
  adjective
• uncreatable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• creating
  present
• created
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• create
  simple
• creates
  simple
• have created
  perfect
• has created
  perfect
• am creating
  progressive
• are creating
  progressive
• is creating
  progressive
• have been creating
  perfect progressive
• has been creating
  perfect progressive

Past

• created
  simple
• had created
  perfect
• was creating
  progressive
• were creating
  progressive
• had been creating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will create
  simple
• will have created
  perfect
• will be creating
  progressive
• will have been creating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of create

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English creat (past participle), from Latin creātus, equivalent to creā- (stem of creāre “to make”) + -tus past participle suffix

Explanation

To create simply means to make or bring into existence. Bakers create cakes, ants create problems at picnics, and you probably created a few imaginary friends when you were little. Similar to conceive and spawn and the exact opposite of destroy, create is a word that often implies a little bit of imagination. In fact, it takes a lot of creativity to create something spectacular; that is, unless you're a robot, and then your creations occur automatically. Or Mother Nature, where creation just happens naturally: Birds create nests, the tides create waves, and snowstorms create days off from school.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

create creates created creating

"I think that there's a strategy to divide and conquer and to create a very contrived confusion," he argues.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

And the worse the problem, the more likely it becomes that central banks have to create yet more special tools to address it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Once the selected become official members of the Green Lantern Corps, they can wield their rings to create astronomical constructs.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

“You can’t create a good management idea unless you talk to the citizens and see what people want.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

A fission bomb could create the heat and pressure needed to fuse hydrogen atoms.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

This cartilage protects the joints and creates a smooth surface for motion.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

A large donor-advised fund contribution creates a large deduction.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Julian Master is an American photographer who documents our globalized, connected public life and the sometimes strange juxtapositions it creates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

He has the size and physicality of a tight end, which creates mismatches with smaller cornerbacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The colors do not actually blend with each other—but the result of their overlap creates a spectrum of colors that seems virtually continuous.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

It investigated, but in doing so, created a much bigger problem.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

More than 200 murals have been created since the festival began, which, in addition to Salvadoran artists, has also featured artists from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Argentina.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

But even if we ignore the self-interest of critics and assume that forward guidance was created with good intentions, it simply doesn’t work in practice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Researchers believe the shock "fizzles" after reaching the outer boundary of a bubble created by gas that the doomed star had previously expelled.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

All he knew was that, in rapid succession, Goldman created a bunch of multibillion-dollar deals that transferred to AIG the responsibility for all future losses from $20 billion in triple-B-rated subprime mortgage bonds.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

On the walls where gang members in El Salvador once marked their turf, urban artists are now creating large murals in a traveling festival that fills the streets of the Central American country with color.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

But creating a clear team identity is a vital part of reaching those all-important new audiences.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

I’m wondering if the justices are themselves creating these absurd notions or if appellate advocates are suggesting and steering the justices toward these contrived ways of thinking.

From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026

He said designing beautiful cars has a lot in common with creating intuitive mobile apps.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

In the decades that followed, Colored people strove to educate themselves— organizing, creating self-help groups, running for office, fighting to change laws, founding schools, and so on.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

• build
• conceive
• construct
• design
• devise
• discover
• establish
• forge
• form
• found
• generate
• initiate
• invent
• make
• organize
• plan
• produce
• set up
• shape
• spawn