First recorded in 1375–1425.
Comes from Latin, from the past participle of inveterāre, “to grow old, allow to grow old, preserve.\"
Inveterāre contains veter-, the stem of vetus, meaning “old,\" which is also the stem of the word veteran.
Sign up for more Word of the Day!

\r\nEXAMPLES OF INVETERATE\r\n

The inveterate procrastinator always left things until the last minute.
As an inveterate optimist, she always saw the bright side of every situation.

\r\nIt's National Poetry Month, and we’ve created a challenge that really is for everyone. Submit now!","audio":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/I02/I0281600.mp3","definitions":[{"partofspeech":"adjective","data":"settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like."}],"examples":[],"imageUrl":"https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/inveterate_IG.png","accentColor":"#0063D7"}},"status":"succeeded"}},"meta":{"requestId":"ClOB3ZRJ1qYtORblgQA2X","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"three-phase","entry":"three-phase"},{"slug":"three-piece","entry":"three-piece"},{"slug":"three-ply","entry":"three-ply"},{"slug":"three-pointer","entry":"three-pointer"},{"slug":"three-point-landing","entry":"three-point landing"}],"after":[{"slug":"three-point-turn","entry":"three-point turn"},{"slug":"three-quarter","entry":"three-quarter"},{"slug":"three-quarter-armor","entry":"three-quarter armor"},{"slug":"three-quarter-binding","entry":"three-quarter binding"},{"slug":"three-quarter-nelson","entry":"three-quarter nelson"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"three-point-play"},"requestId":"V1XIMIKhrkInulguqo8W0","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"three-point-play"},"requestId":"4kjCgeDrYMSoNIRcO-k7g","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"Entry","audioPronunciations":[],"confusableNotes":[],"genderNotes":[],"grammarNotes":[],"headword":{"displayForm":"three-point play","slug":"three-point-play"},"idioms":[],"orderKey":99999010,"ordinal":10,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechBlock":[{"definitions":[{"antonymsConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"type\": \"def\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"a play in which a player sinks the free throw that was awarded when the player was fouled while scoring a basket.\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"ordinal":1,"subdefinitions":[],"synonymsConnection":{"edges":[]}}],"inflectionSets":[],"labelSet":{"labelSetText":"Basketball."},"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciationNotes":[],"pronunciationSet":null,"relatedFormSets":[],"sensitiveNotes":[],"spellingNotes":[],"synonymStudy":[],"usageAlerts":[],"usageNotes":[],"variants":[],"verbPhrases":[]}],"url":"three-point-play"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"three-point-play"},"requestId":"0kOkCRcbMzxpz4o4UftiO","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"three-point-play","displayForm":"three-point play","canonicalSlug":"three-point-play","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e7a504a.-24fe","type":"normal","entry":"three-point play","entrySyllabified":"three-point play","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":null,"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"a play in which a player sinks the free throw that was awarded when the player was fouled while scoring a basket.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":"Basketball."}],"origin":null,"originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":156714,"index-rank-01":["three-point play"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["three-point play's","three-point plays","three-point plays'"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":["three point play","threepoint play"],"index-rank-07":[],"index-rank-08":[],"index-rank-09":[],"index-rank-10":[],"index-rank-11":[],"index-rank-12":[],"index-rank-13":[],"index-rank-14":[],"index-rank-15":[],"complexityScore":0.1548180562544591,"gradeLevel":"high_school","tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"three-point-play"},"requestId":"2PLKF4M-S7QtsX2UwPtJZ","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":[],"tuna":[],"lunaWithSlug":[],"tunaWithSlug":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"three-point-play"},"requestId":"ezdkKYiiz13fXlnAnpgdb","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

three-point play

noun

Word of the Day