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:
She receives a strange invitation in the mail from REbirth, a company that claims to create humanoid replicas of deceased loved ones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Emmanuel’s invitation to our defenders is a sign of respect and recognition of the strength of Ukraine, our people, and our armed forces,” Zelensky said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
It should also be an invitation to reflect honestly on who we have been and who we aspire to become.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Meanwhile, 3% said they have wished to decline an invitation themselves but felt too judged.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
“Her mom made her invite everyone in our class,” Kiki adds, giving an invitation to Madge, too.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
She started by painting folk art-inspired invitations for a friend’s baby shower.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Some Americans who are getting married have even joked on Reddit that they may purchase 500 stamps before the price increase to cut down the cost of mailing out save-the-dates, wedding invitations and thank-you cards.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
"We mentioned money on our invitations and also created print-out QR codes for people to scan at the bar," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
One groom insisted the invitations include a reference to the snickerdoodle cookies he bakes with his fiancée.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
I’d also received invitations to join four of the biggest gunter clans: the Oviraptors, Clan Destiny, the Key Masters, and Team Banzai.
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.
