invoice

American  

[in-vois] / ˈɪn vɔɪs /

noun

• invoices
  plural

1. an itemized bill for goods sold or services provided, containing individual prices, the total charge, and the terms.

2. the merchandise or shipment itself.

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verb (used with object)

• invoices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• invoiced,
  past participle,  past
• invoicing
  present participle

1. to present an invoice to.

   The manufacturer invoiced us for six whiteboards.

2. to present an invoice for.

   five chairs invoiced and shipped last month.

verb (used without object)

• invoices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• invoiced,
  past participle,  past
• invoicing
  present participle

1. to prepare or submit an invoice.

2. to have a value if or when inventoried.

   The merchandise in stock invoiced far more than we expected.

invoice British  

/ ˈɪnvɔɪs /

noun

1. a document issued by a seller to a buyer listing the goods or services supplied and stating the sum of money due

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verb

1. (tr)

   1. to present (a customer) with an invoice

   2. to list (merchandise sold) on an invoice

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• uninvoiced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• invoices
  plural

Participles

• invoicing
  present
• invoiced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• invoice
  simple
• invoices
  simple
• have invoiced
  perfect
• has invoiced
  perfect
• am invoicing
  progressive
• are invoicing
  progressive
• is invoicing
  progressive
• have been invoicing
  perfect progressive
• has been invoicing
  perfect progressive

Past

• invoiced
  simple
• had invoiced
  perfect
• was invoicing
  progressive
• were invoicing
  progressive
• had been invoicing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will invoice
  simple
• will have invoiced
  perfect
• will be invoicing
  progressive
• will have been invoicing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of invoice

First recorded in 1550–60; variant of invoyes, plural of obsolete invoy, variant of envoy ¹

Explanation

An invoice is an itemized statement of the money that's owed for goods or services. If you buy books online, they will usually arrive with an invoice telling what books you bought and how much they cost. Invoice comes from the French verb envoyer, which means to send, and "send" is a verb often used with the noun invoice, like when the online bookstore sends you an invoice. The same sense occurs when you use invoice as a verb. If you tell someone to invoice you for work they've done, you're asking them to send you a bill.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

invoice invoices invoiced invoicing

Then, several days later, I tried to send my invoice for 1,000 pounds, roughly $1,340.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

With one client, for example, the pod started with a use case around automating invoice processing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

On “Obsession,” the complaint says, Darby was paid $300,000 out of the film’s initial minimum guarantee after Tea Shop directed her company, Runt Productions, to invoice for “Services: Obsession.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Among them are Medway Council chiefs who say they will use AI to "draft care plans" and automate invoice processing.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“No problem. I’ll invoice you for my bodyguard work.”

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

In its lawsuit, Fresh Tape said LIV offered $200,000 to settle the unpaid invoices, citing its “current financial constraints,” and later lowered the offer to $150,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Customers have shared their outrage after an app used by many businesses to track timesheets and produce invoices hiked bills by as much as 1500%, with one person calling it "daylight robbery".

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The simple fact is that U.S. tariff invoices issued by the Treasury Department are sent to the U.S. businesses that import the foreign products.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

“We’ve seen layoffs and furloughs, and we will see a lot more of that if these invoices aren’t paid.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Herr Friedrick Thiessen receives the card in the mail, a plain envelope amongst his invoices and business correspondence.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

The city of Mesa unsuccessfully invoiced the campaign $64,477.56 for an October 2018 rally.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2024

An artist who offered me $14 an hour to be her assistant, then forgot to pay me when I invoiced.

From Slate ● May 18, 2024

Afflicted vendors included big players such as Apple, which is still owed more than half of the $661,000 invoiced since July, UW officials say.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

In response, the BBC provided "the fees incurred on legal advice and counsel fees which have been invoiced to and paid by the BBC to date" for both Ms Traynor's and Ms Ferguson's cases.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2023

“I didn’t know that he invoiced you for that tile until now. I didn’t think that was something he’d do.”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Not qualifying for invoicing didn’t stop Taskrabbit, which was eager to test the service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Self-employed people might postpone year-end invoicing to the following year.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

While official dollar reserve holdings remain relatively stable, trade invoicing is gradually shifting toward other currencies, signaling incremental diversification in global payments.

From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026

For those who can move with the change, AI promises to transform tasks like computer coding, customer relations and streamline business functions like invoicing, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 18, 2024

Internet banking, Internet gambling, day trading, foreign exchange cyber transactions, e-cash, e-commerce, fictitious invoicing of the launderer's genuine credit cards - hold the promise of the future.

From Crime and Corruption by Samuel Vaknin