invent
verb (used with object)
to originate or create as a product of one's own ingenuity, experimentation, or contrivance.
have been inventing
-
present perfect progressiveof invent.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Granted, the Dodgers have been inventing new ways to lose games for a while now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2025
Katia, 70, and Marielle, 68, have been inventing themselves since they were teenagers.
From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2020
“For as long as people have been making stories, they have been inventing islands.”
From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2017
You write, “For as long as people have been making stories, they have been inventing islands.”
From National Geographic ● Dec. 9, 2017
My dear, I hope that no one will imagine here I have been inventing in the tale that's done.
From The Daughter of the Storage And Other Things in Prose and Verse by Howells, William Dean
