invention

American  

[in-ven-shuhn] / ɪnˈvɛn ʃən /

noun

1. the act of inventing.

2. U.S. Patent Law. a new, useful process, machine, improvement, etc., that did not exist previously and that is recognized as the product of some unique intuition or genius, as distinguished from ordinary mechanical skill or craftsmanship.

3. anything invented or devised.

4. the power or faculty of inventing, devising, or originating.

5. an act or instance of creating or producing by exercise of the imagination, especially in art, music, etc.

6. something fabricated, as a false statement.

7. Sociology. the creation of a new culture trait, pattern, etc.

8. Music. a short piece, contrapuntal in nature, generally based on one subject.

9. Rhetoric. (traditionally) one of the five steps in speech preparation, the process of choosing ideas appropriate to the subject, audience, and occasion.

10. Archaic. the act of finding.

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invention British  

/ ɪnˈvɛnʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of inventing

2. something that is invented

3. patent law the discovery or production of some new or improved process or machine that is both useful and is not obvious to persons skilled in the particular field

4. creative power or ability; inventive skill

5. euphemistic a fabrication; lie

6. (in traditional rhetoric) one of the five steps in preparing a speech or discourse: the process of finding suitable topics on which to talk or write

7. music a short piece consisting of two or three parts usually in imitative counterpoint

8. sociol the creation of a new cultural pattern or trait

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Other Word Forms

• inventional adjective
• inventionless adjective
• preinvention noun
• self-invention noun

Etymology

Origin of invention

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English invencio(u)n, from Latin inventiōn-, stem of inventiō “discovery, finding out”; equivalent to invent + -ion

Example Sentences

If Ms. Gage wanted some celebratory leaven, she could have visited Dayton, Ohio’s many sites devoted to the Wright Brothers and their world-changing invention.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Since their invention in the 1960s, lasers have transformed both science and daily life, powering everything from grocery store scanners to vision-correcting surgery.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

It’s also an endorsement of quantum’s applications in materials science—the field of study that underscores nearly every modern invention, from medical devices to semiconductors to batteries.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

According to Taylor, there is a link between dyslexia and “enhanced abilities” in areas such as discovery, invention and creativity.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

Our starting point in Chapter 5 is the invention of perspective painting, which involved the application of geometrical principles to pictorial representation.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton