invention
UK/ɪnˈvɛnʃən/
invention noun: something invented.
Noun
invention (countable and uncountable, plural inventions)
- Something invented.
- My new invention will let you alphabetize your matchbook collection in half the usual time.
- I’m afraid there was no burglar. It was all the housekeeper’s invention.
- The act of inventing.
- The invention of the printing press was probably the most significant innovation of the medieval ages.
- Invention, or the Genius of Hiſtoricizing and framing a Noble Idea upon the Subject one vvould Paint, is a particular Talent, not to be acquir'd by Study or Labour; but is properly a certain ardor exciting the Imagination, prompting and enabling it to Act.1668, Roland Freart [i.e., Roland Fréart de Chambray], “Of Invention”, in John Evelyn, transl., An Idea of the Perfection of Painting: […], In the Savoy [London]: […] Henry Herringman […], →OCLC...
- The capacity to invent.
- It took quite a bit of invention to come up with a plan, but we did it.
- A small, self-contained composition, particularly those in J.S. Bach’s Two- and Three-part Inventions.
- I particularly like the inventions in C-minor.
- INVENTION. A term used by J. S. Bach, and probably by him only, for small pianoforte pieces — 15 in 2 parts and 15 in 3 parts — each developing a single idea, and in some measure answering to the Impromptu of a later day.1880, George Grove (editor and entry author), A Dictionary of Music and Musicians II, London: Macmillan & Co., page 15, Invention
- The act of discovering or finding; the act of finding out; discovery.
- That judicial method which serveth best for the invention of truth.
invention meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
invention in Hindi
- something invented
- आविष्कार āviṣkār
invention in Tamil
- something invented
- கண்டுபிடிப்பு kaṇṭupiṭippu
- act of inventing
- கண்டுபிடிப்பு kaṇṭupiṭippu
invention in Marathi
- invention
- शोध śodh
invention in Urdu
- something invented
- اِیجاد ījād, اِیجادات ījādāt, اِخْتِراع ixtirā'
More languagesFewer languages
- invention in Bengali
- আবিষ্কার abiśkar
- invention in Telugu
- కల్పన kalpana
- invention in Malayalam
- കണ്ടുപിടിത്തം kaṇṭupiṭittaṁ
- invention in Kannada
- ಆವಿಷ್ಕರಣ, ಹೊಸ ಶೋಧನೆ, ಕಂಡುಹಿಡಿಯುವಿಕೆ, ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ ಕುಶಲತೆ
- invention in Punjabi
- ਕਾਢ, ਇਨਵੈਨਸ਼ਨ, ਇੰਵੈਨਸ਼ਨ
- invention in Odia
- ଆବିଷ୍କାର ābiṣkāra
- invention in Nepali
- आविष्कार
- invention in Pashto
- اختراع exterā'
- invention in Tagalog
- imbensiyon
- invention in Arabic
- اِخْتِرَاع iḵtirāʕ
- invention in Indonesian
- temuan, penemuan baru, invensi, reka cipta
- invention in Thai
- สิ่งประดิษฐ์ sìng-bprà-dìt
- invention in Vietnamese
- phát minh, sáng chế
- invention in Myanmar
- တီထွင်မှု tihtwanghmu.
Examples of invention in a sentence
- Warren Sheffield is telephoning Rose long distance at half past six. […] Personally, I wouldn't marry a man who proposed to me over an invention.1944 November 28, Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe, Meet Me in St. Louis, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- British inventions have done more to influence the shape of the modern world than those of any other country.2013 October 5, “The widening gyre”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8856, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
- Digging deeper, the invention of eyeglasses is an elaboration of the more fundamental development of optics technology.2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist:
Synonyms of invention
Forms of invention
| plural | inventions |
|---|
Origin of invention
From Middle English invencion, invencioun, from Latin inventiō either directly or via Middle French invencion, from Latin invenīre (“to discover, find, invent”), from in- (“in-: in, into”) + venīre (“to come”). Doublet of inventio. By surface analysis, invent + -ion. Displaced native Old English orþanc.
Words formed from invention
Questions about invention
- What does invention mean?
- Invention means something invented.
- What is invention in Hindi?
- Invention in Hindi is आविष्कार (āviṣkār). See Invention meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use invention in a sentence?
- Warren Sheffield is telephoning Rose long distance at half past six. […] Personally, I wouldn't marry a man who proposed to me over an invention.
- What part of speech is invention?
- Invention is a noun.
- How do you pronounce invention?
- Invention is pronounced /ɪnˈvɛnʃən/ (UK).
- What is the plural of invention?
- The plural of invention is inventions.
Words near invention in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: invention (page history and authors); शोध (Marathi) (page history and authors); കണ്ടുപിടിത്തം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); invention (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); invention (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ଆବିଷ୍କାର (Odia) (page history and authors); invention (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-invention.ogg.
Cite this entry: “invention.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/invention. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.