invade
Americanverb (used with object)
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to enter forcefully as an enemy; go into with hostile intent.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
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to enter like an enemy.
Locusts invaded the fields.
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to enter as if to take possession.
to invade a neighbor's home.
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to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease.
viruses that invade the bloodstream.
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to intrude upon.
to invade the privacy of a family.
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to encroach or infringe upon.
to invade the rights of citizens.
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to permeate.
The smell of baking invades the house.
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to penetrate; spread into or over.
The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to enter (a country, territory, etc) by military force
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(tr) to occupy in large numbers; overrun; infest
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(tr) to trespass or encroach upon (privacy, etc)
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(tr) to enter and spread throughout, esp harmfully; pervade
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(of plants, esp weeds) to become established in (a place to which they are not native)
Other Word Forms
- invadable adjective
- invader noun
- quasi-invaded adjective
- reinvade verb (used with object)
- uninvadable adjective
- uninvaded adjective
Etymology
Origin of invade
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin invādere, from in- in- 2 + vādere “to go, walk” ( wade )
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.
Experts will be working to establish whether something has changed that may make it more likely to spread or better able to invade the body or to get into brain tissues than other strains.
From BBC
Prices for U.S. and global oil have both tested $100 a barrel since the conflict began in late February, their highest levels since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
From MarketWatch
And in the event of Finland being invaded or attacked in some other way, such as a substantial countrywide cyber breach, S Group has a detailed plan for how it would help the national cause.
From BBC
In 1814 Napoleon fought a battle at Arcis-sur-Aube against the invading Austrian, Prussian and Russian armies, and two years later German immigrants invited by the Russian government named their settlement Artsyz, after the battle.
From BBC
It's only in a tiny number of cases that the bacteria cross the barriers inside our nose to invade the body and cause meningitis and sepsis.
From BBC
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.
