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.
As home prices have risen in recent years, many institutional investors, such as Blackstone, Invitation Homes, and American Homes 4 Rent, have bought few existing homes and instead built entire communities of single-family rentals.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Invitation Homes, a residential real estate investment trust, has had a tough go of it lately: It has slid 29% over the past year and is down 11% so far in 2026.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
Big firms like Invitation Homes and Pretium Partners still buy some existing homes, but they are increasingly pivoting toward build-to-rent within their single-family rental operations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026
The post sent shockwaves through the market, lowering stock prices of corporate housing giants such as Invitation Homes and Blackstone Inc., but no specific actions have been announced.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026
Anorak's Invitation begins with the sound of trumpets, the opening of an old song called “Dead Man’s Party.”
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
