invent
Americanverb (used with object)
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to originate or create as a product of one's own ingenuity, experimentation, or contrivance.
to invent the telegraph.
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to produce or create with the imagination.
to invent a story.
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to make up or fabricate (something fictitious or false).
to invent excuses.
- Synonyms:
- concoct
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Archaic. to come upon; find.
verb
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to create or devise (new ideas, machines, etc)
-
to make up (falsehoods); fabricate
Related Words
See discover.
Other Word Forms
- inventable adjective
- inventible adjective
- outinvent verb (used with object)
- preinvent verb (used with object)
- self-invented adjective
- uninvented adjective
- well-invented adjective
Etymology
Origin of invent
First recorded in 1425–75; back formation from late Middle English invented (past participle) “found, discovered,” from Latin invent(us) “encountered” (past participle of invenīre “to come upon, encounter, find,” from in- in- 2 + venīre “to come”; come ) + -ed 2
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.
But climates shift, and while “invented heritage” can act as a powerful anchor, it can also be a millstone, an obstacle to necessary, large-scale changes.
From Salon
Jones applied for a job at BBC Wales, inventing a string of career triumphs for his CV.
From BBC
“The separate sovereign’s exception,” he continued, “was wrong when it was invented and remains wrong today.”
From Salon
"What we have invented here is a way of measuring information that comes into neurons from different sources, and that's been a critical part missing from neuroscience research."
From Science Daily
“I did think that I invented this profession. I was absolutely mistaken. But at the time I thought, ‘Someone should do this for people, this is really hard,’” she said.
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.
