invoice

American  

[in-vois] / ˈɪn vɔɪs /

noun

• invoices
  plural

1. an itemized bill for goods sold or services provided, containing individual prices, the total charge, and the terms.

2. the merchandise or shipment itself.

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verb (used with object)

• invoices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• invoiced,
  past participle,  past
• invoicing
  present participle

1. to present an invoice to.

   The manufacturer invoiced us for six whiteboards.

2. to present an invoice for.

   five chairs invoiced and shipped last month.

verb (used without object)

• invoices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• invoiced,
  past participle,  past
• invoicing
  present participle

1. to prepare or submit an invoice.

2. to have a value if or when inventoried.

   The merchandise in stock invoiced far more than we expected.

invoice British  

/ ˈɪnvɔɪs /

noun

1. a document issued by a seller to a buyer listing the goods or services supplied and stating the sum of money due

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verb

1. (tr)

   1. to present (a customer) with an invoice

   2. to list (merchandise sold) on an invoice

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• uninvoiced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• invoices
  plural

Participles

• invoicing
  present
• invoiced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• invoice
  simple
• invoices
  simple
• have invoiced
  perfect
• has invoiced
  perfect
• am invoicing
  progressive
• are invoicing
  progressive
• is invoicing
  progressive
• have been invoicing
  perfect progressive
• has been invoicing
  perfect progressive

Past

• invoiced
  simple
• had invoiced
  perfect
• was invoicing
  progressive
• were invoicing
  progressive
• had been invoicing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will invoice
  simple
• will have invoiced
  perfect
• will be invoicing
  progressive
• will have been invoicing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of invoice

First recorded in 1550–60; variant of invoyes, plural of obsolete invoy, variant of envoy ¹

Explanation

An invoice is an itemized statement of the money that's owed for goods or services. If you buy books online, they will usually arrive with an invoice telling what books you bought and how much they cost. Invoice comes from the French verb envoyer, which means to send, and "send" is a verb often used with the noun invoice, like when the online bookstore sends you an invoice. The same sense occurs when you use invoice as a verb. If you tell someone to invoice you for work they've done, you're asking them to send you a bill.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

invoice invoices invoiced invoicing

Then, several days later, I tried to send my invoice for 1,000 pounds, roughly $1,340.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

On “Obsession,” the complaint says, Darby was paid $300,000 out of the film’s initial minimum guarantee after Tea Shop directed her company, Runt Productions, to invoice for “Services: Obsession.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Among them are Medway Council chiefs who say they will use AI to "draft care plans" and automate invoice processing.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Because of that, they are “no longer interchangeable,” he said, which has led Nvidia and other hyperscalers to buy memory on longer-term contract basis instead of buying on invoice.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

The old man writes an invoice, tears the yellow copy from the white-and-pink ones.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle

It is unclear whether the payment reflected in the invoices viewed by the Journal was ultimately made.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

The simple fact is that U.S. tariff invoices issued by the Treasury Department are sent to the U.S. businesses that import the foreign products.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Prosecutors said Alexander Soofer falsified invoices claiming he was serving fresh meals to residents while actually serving breakfast bars and microwavable ramen noodles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Once in, they can spot legitimate email threads about invoices and business matters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Kathy and Ambata were sending out invoices when Ambata said something Kathy couldn’t understand.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

The city of Mesa unsuccessfully invoiced the campaign $64,477.56 for an October 2018 rally.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2024

An artist who offered me $14 an hour to be her assistant, then forgot to pay me when I invoiced.

From Slate ● May 18, 2024

Afflicted vendors included big players such as Apple, which is still owed more than half of the $661,000 invoiced since July, UW officials say.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

The figures also included "amounts which have been invoiced but not yet verified and paid," according to the BBC response, and do not include VAT.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2023

He can’t hurt those big boxes: they are invoiced as “clay,” and to pull them about is as harmless a thing as he can do.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Self-employed people might postpone year-end invoicing to the following year.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

While official dollar reserve holdings remain relatively stable, trade invoicing is gradually shifting toward other currencies, signaling incremental diversification in global payments.

From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026

Santander’s other lending relates to invoicing at Ultinon, a headlights maker that isn’t in the chapter 11 proceedings, and to the First Brands units in Mexico and Brazil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025

It showed the rates companies were offering, confirmed deliveries, managed invoicing and eventually offered a two-day quick-pay option.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2024

We drove back to his home at Kirkersville, where, after invoicing and dividing profits, we dissolved partnership.

From Twenty Years of Hus'ling by W. W. (William Wallace) Denslow