innovate
Americanverb (used without object)
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innovates,
present (3rd person singular)
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innovated,
past participle, past
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innovating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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innovates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
innovated,
past participle, past
-
innovating
present participle
-
to introduce (something new) for or as if for the first time.
to innovate a computer operating system.
-
Archaic. to alter.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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innovatesimple
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innovatessimple
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have innovatedperfect
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has innovatedperfect
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am innovatingprogressive
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are innovatingprogressive
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is innovatingprogressive
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have been innovatingperfect progressive
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has been innovatingperfect progressive
Past
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innovatedsimple
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had innovatedperfect
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was innovatingprogressive
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were innovatingprogressive
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had been innovatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of innovate
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin innovātus, past participle of innovāre “to renew, alter,” equivalent to in- intensive prefix + novātus, past participle of novā(re) “to renew,” verbal derivative of novus “new” + -tus past participle suffix); see in- 2, new
Explanation
Innovate means to bring something new to something. If you love cranberry seltzers, you might innovate by adding limeade or by making the drink with cran-raspberry juice instead. In our culture obsessed with finding the next new thing, the word innovate is very popular––behind every "new and improved" label slapped onto the packaging of some perfectly useful product is some eager beaver buried in the ranks of a company, scheming ways to innovate.
Vocabulary lists containing innovate
A Résumé of Active Words
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Academic Vocabulary, Units 4–6
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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.
See Examples For:
The company—whose nearly 2,800 customers include Canva, Dairy Queen and Equinox—will continue to build, leveraging Salesforce’s platform to innovate faster, Chief Executive and Co-Founder Bill Magnuson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
"We innovate every day to combat evolving threats, and we're committed to providing a safe and trusted platform for kids," the former Apple CEO said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The use of guidelines, though not legally binding, sets expectations while giving developers room to innovate, said National University of Singapore AI ethics lecturer Jonathan Sim.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
It means holding developers accountable for preventable harms while preserving their ability to innovate.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
And thus the establishment of the Great Charter, without seeming anywise to innovate in the distribution of political power, became a kind of epoch in the constitution.
From The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part A. From the Britons of Early Times to King John by David Hume
A Nike spokeswoman said that more diverse interests in China plays to Nike’s strengths as a company that innovates across sporting categories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
From August 2025: Apple no longer innovates — it waits.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 21, 2026
Besson innovates with a subplot about Dracul’s foray into the world of perfume as he develops an intoxicating fragrance in Florence using French lavender, testing the potion on the pre-Revolution socialites in towering white-powdered wigs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
“The decree innovates by granting a pardon to those who dedicate their lives to safeguarding society,” the presidential press office said in a statement, without providing information about how many police will benefit.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2019
But in religion it is always the zealous sect which innovates, which progresses, and which has influence.
From The Life of Jesus by Ernest Renan
Novo has struggled to keep pace with Lilly, a nimble competitor that innovated with the way it sold GLP-1 medications like Zepbound.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Against the country that had innovated the jogo bonito, Haaland’s performance was a masterpiece of straightforward brutality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Guardiola innovated and Arteta imagined how the game would adapt.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
In addition to focusing on its flagship Pepsi brand, the company has innovated in various ways as consumers become more interested in health and wellness.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
Tristan und Isolde is an out-and-out masterpiece, with sweeping, yearning themes, deserving of its place in music’s pantheon, whatever it may or may not have innovated.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Pepsi’s presentation included its legacy work with KFC, as well as plans to boost crafted beverages and innovating with ice tea and lemonade, another person said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
And it isn’t as if Apple stopped innovating entirely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Currie said the company was "broadening and innovating our menu in line with changing tastes and trends".
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Martin and Lewis created a novus ordo seclorum, in its way innovating like America’s founders, spawning a new comedic order of the ages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
As this innovating creature sought for agents of power in the wilderness about him, he blindly laid hands upon such of the fellow tenants of the wilds as might serve his immediate needs.
From Domesticated Animals Their Relation to Man and to his Advancement in Civilization by Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
