innovate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
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
- innovative adjective
- innovator noun
- uninnovating adjective
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); in- 2, new
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.
It must innovate faster—otherwise, he said, there is a risk in becoming “like something you once disrupted.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
Because lenders face intense competition from less regulated firms such as private credit funds and financial-tech start-ups, allowing banks to innovate is critical to their credit strength, Moody’s wrote.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
The fine arts have long struggled with a so-called graying audience, and have moved mountains to innovate in ways that keep the genres fresh in order to attract younger, excitable crowds.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
And on video games, recent entries in the main Pokémon series, still produced by original developers Game Freak, have been criticised for failing to innovate - particularly when it comes to graphics.
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026
And ever since she had posed as one who could innovate if she would, so that the ancient customs of Spain would not know themselves again when she had done with them.
From The White Plumes of Navarre A Romance of the Wars of Religion by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
Definitions 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.
