invent
Americanverb (used with object)
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invents,
present (3rd person singular)
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invented,
past participle, past
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inventing
present participle
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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)
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to make up (falsehoods); fabricate
Synonym Usage
See discover.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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outinventverb (used with object)
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preinventverb (used with object)
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inventableadjective
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inventibleadjective
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self-inventedadjective
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uninventedadjective
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well-inventedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inventsimple
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inventssimple
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have inventedperfect
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has inventedperfect
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am inventingprogressive
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are inventingprogressive
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is inventingprogressive
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have been inventingperfect progressive
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has been inventingperfect progressive
Past
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inventedsimple
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had inventedperfect
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was inventingprogressive
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were inventingprogressive
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had been inventingperfect progressive
Future
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”; see also come) + -ed 2
Explanation
To invent is to create for the first time or make up. If you tell your friends that you invented the electric guitar, you are inventing a pretty unbelievable story about your past. When you think of the word invent, think of Thomas Alva Edison who invented the long-lasting light bulb, the motion picture camera, the phonograph, and the stock ticker. That's a lot of inventions! You couldn't invent a better story of American ingenuity, could you?
Vocabulary lists containing invent
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:
“For example, compaction summaries included instructions to invent missing historical data without disclosing it and to hide mismatches in source versions,” wrote OpenAI.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Generative AI systems are known for their ability to "hallucinate" and assert falsehoods as fact, even sometimes invent sources for inaccurate information.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
You also can’t invent what is now a lifelong bond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
She didn’t invent the idea of catchy songs about infatuations and breakups where the protagonist’s experience can be mapped to a singer’s life, but she perfected it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
And all of them said, in complete unison, “Why did Frances Miranda Gonzagaga invent whatnots?”
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
"Our work is a prime example of how evolution seldom invents things from scratch," says Daniel Kronauer, head of the Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior at Rockefeller.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
Peter’s inner despair gets externalized when he invents a genetic inhibitor neck implant to tamp down his sensitivity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
"Every new live-service game invents its own demise," van Dreunen said.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
In 2052, a celebrated neuroscientist invents an affordable panacea for suffering that’s soon embraced by the entire human race.
From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2025
Usually, Meadowlark and I use our before-bed time to talk, brush our teeth together, or play cat’s cradle or card games she invents.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The question of what’s real and not isn’t only Béatrice’s to unpack — you may wonder yourself whether Auen and Walker have fabricated their esoteric source materials and invented the strange saga of Ernetti.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
I am certainly not claiming to have invented roasted chicken soup.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
“We have invented the personal computer. We have iPhones. And you’re telling me the best we can do is 1953? I don’t buy that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The confusion of the term’s meaning extends back to its origin—because, in fact, it was invented as the result of a communication error.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
One highlight was the very silly “Lost Navigator’s Dance,” which they’d invented themselves, sure to bring laughs.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
WeWork will forever be remembered for inventing “community-adjusted Ebitda,” a profit measure that excluded many expenses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The adults would engage in animated conversation, usually about current events, while we, the dozen or so kids, kept ourselves busy inventing games.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
"We are too often good at inventing technologies but too slow at turning them into global companies," said EU lawmaker Axel Voss, who has pushed for Europe's technological sovereignty.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Because the more Seemiller studies Gen Z, the more she finds a generation responding rationally to the world it inherited — not inventing entirely new values out of thin air.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
This arises from the fact that her ancient military practices were not good, and that there has existed nobody capable of inventing new ones.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
