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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
The first minister will spend much of the day touring Inverclyde at the invitation of the local authority to see for himself the special challenges facing the region.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
After those factors were considered, receiving an invitation to screening was associated with a 26 percent lower risk of dying from colorectal cancer.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
Visiting the island requires an invitation from either a homeowner or a member of the country club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
More than 3.5 million people applied for invitation codes for early access, with some codes fetching thousands of dollars on online resale markets.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Mater and Pater Lumley had declined Lord Fredrick’s invitation to live in the grand house at Ashton Place but had happily accepted his offer of a small cottage on the grounds.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Will there be invitations extended to the Sussex family?
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
She has received discounts on some items, like candles, while others—including invitations, bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen tuxedos, even her wedding gown—were free.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
We’re all sitting at home sipping adaptogenic mushroom tonics, journaling our feelings and politely declining invitations to any event after 7 p.m. because we’d rather optimize our sleep scores than take a tequila shot.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Don’t miss: I got two email invitations from friends.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Ernest, somewhat abashed at telling supplicants that he would have to check with Neylan before accepting their invitations, called him his “father confessor.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
