invade
Americanverb (used with object)
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invades,
present (3rd person singular)
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invaded,
past participle, past
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invading
present participle
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to enter forcefully as an enemy; go into with hostile intent.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
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to enter like an enemy.
Locusts invaded the fields.
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to enter as if to take possession.
to invade a neighbor's home.
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to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease.
viruses that invade the bloodstream.
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to intrude upon.
to invade the privacy of a family.
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to encroach or infringe upon.
to invade the rights of citizens.
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to permeate.
The smell of baking invades the house.
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to penetrate; spread into or over.
The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs.
verb (used without object)
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invades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
invaded,
past participle, past
-
invading
present participle
verb
-
to enter (a country, territory, etc) by military force
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(tr) to occupy in large numbers; overrun; infest
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(tr) to trespass or encroach upon (privacy, etc)
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(tr) to enter and spread throughout, esp harmfully; pervade
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(of plants, esp weeds) to become established in (a place to which they are not native)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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invadernoun
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reinvadeverb (used with object)
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invadableadjective
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quasi-invadedadjective
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uninvadableadjective
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uninvadedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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invadesimple
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invadessimple
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have invadedperfect
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has invadedperfect
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am invadingprogressive
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are invadingprogressive
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is invadingprogressive
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have been invadingperfect progressive
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has been invadingperfect progressive
Past
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invadedsimple
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had invadedperfect
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was invadingprogressive
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were invadingprogressive
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had been invadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of invade
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin invādere, from in- in- 2 + vādere “to go, walk” ( see also wade)
Explanation
When you Invade, you aggressively take over or occupy a place. If a country's leader wants to gain more land, the military might invade a neighboring country. Not everything that invades is militaristic. Some things that invade are cultural, such as the phenomena of young, stylish people moving into a neighborhood that had never been thought of as cool before. In an instant, new restaurants and shops catering to the newcomers open and soon the area is overrun with people wearing, say, skinny jeans and complicated eyewear. Natives to the area lament, "This place has been invaded by hipsters."
Vocabulary lists containing invade
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Bronx Masquerade
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
Some clones develop changes that help them withstand cancer treatments, while others become better equipped to invade surrounding tissues and spread to other parts of the body.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
Mr. Lee takes us viscerally back to that strike through flashbacks and news videos, and before the police invade we sense its atmosphere of hopeful possibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
It's been nearly five years since his predecessor William Burns made this trip and that was at a similarly tense time, just as Russia was drawing up plans to invade Ukraine.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Why invade some place if you basically already control it?
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
I’m compelled to push, but why invade a space where I am not welcome?
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
This sharp, darkly comic film follows a Lithuanian couple that splits up just as Russia invades Ukraine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
They argue it invades people's privacy and carries an unacceptable risk of misidentification.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
The current odds External link that the U.S. invades Greenland in 2026, acquires Greenland in 2026, or acquires Greenland in 2027 are 10%, 23%, and 18%, respectively.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
"We knew that Salmonella invades the small intestine, although it is not its primary site of replication. The colon is," said the lead author of the study Andreas Bäumler.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2024
When his huge frame invades the narrow doorway, the memory of him hits me like whiplash.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
The Rays weren’t the least bit intimidated by any of it, not even the Yankee fans who invaded their home at the Trop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
In the war of 1812, the Americans invaded what was known then as Upper Canada, Lower Canada and the maritime colonies repeatedly, resulting in a stalemate.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Lavrov last met with a German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, in January 2022, less than a month before Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
The Tapestry narrates how—following the death of England’s king, Edward the Confessor—William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England and defeated the last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, at Hastings, Sussex.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Sea otters invaded streams and ponds, gobbling up freshwater fish and driving out many of the longtime residents.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
By binding to molecules the fungus uses during infection, these regions help plants recognize the presence of an invading pathogen and activate their defenses.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
Russia’s enormous size once helped it defend against the invading armies of Hitler and Napoleon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
When neutrophils encounter pathogens, they can release toxic substances and even destroy themselves, spilling long strands of biological material that form web-like traps around invading microbes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Although Perez’s livestream proceeded for around 15 minutes before it was shut down, screenshots and clips rocketed across the internet, invading countless social media feeds.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
The song is about Italy’s freedom from invading Nazi fascists.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
