invitation
Americannoun
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the act of inviting, such as an offer of entertainment or hospitality
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( as modifier )
an invitation dance
an invitation race
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the act of enticing or attracting; allurement
Other Word Forms
- preinvitation noun
- reinvitation noun
Etymology
Origin of invitation
1590–1600; < Latin invītātiōn- (stem of invītātiō ), equivalent to invītāt ( us ) (past participle of invītāre to invite ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
An invitation is a request, a solicitation, or an attempt to get another person to join you at a specific event. You need an invitation to go to the Academy Awards, even if you're George Clooney. When you ask people to attend a party, visit your beach house, or witness your marriage, you invite them — using the verb — and you've given them an invitation. An invitation can be delivered as a verbal request, a beautifully engraved card, or even puffs of smoke behind an airplane. If you give invitations to two hundred of your closest friends to attend your Mardi Gras party, you’d better make a lot of jambalaya.
Vocabulary lists containing invitation
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 7
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"Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates"
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"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 4–6
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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.
Bringing it up kind of seems like an unforced error and invitation for a Streisand effect.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026
Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Pyongyang and Taiwan’s opposition leader Cheng Li-wun visited China for a “peace mission” at Xi’s invitation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
"I'll take that as a yes," Carney said, also extending an invitation to visit Ottawa, the Canadian capital.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
Adams was reluctant to categorize his sensibility, but he acknowledged that he gravitated toward plays “that have some invitation for design innovation while being centered on human beings.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
He should have been thrilled with the invitation, but he faced a conflict, and thus was forced to puzzle out what to do.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
