transitive verb

• 1Create or design (something that has not existed before); be the originator of.

  ‘he invented an improved form of the steam engine’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Above all, I admire the fact that when an exact word doesn't exist, he calmly invents one.’
  • ‘He was born Jay Gatz but repudiated his origins and background while inventing a grand new persona.’
  • ‘Do we really need to create artificial scarcity by inventing awards that only some kids can receive?’
  • ‘Beside him, and like him focused on the eggs, is the original movie camera invented by Lumière.’
  • ‘Anyway, the point Marwick is making is that the historian does not create or invent the structure found in the history text.’
  • ‘Also, single word titles are often not unique, and I like inventing original things.’
  • ‘He even turned his hand to inventing, designing, among other things, a device for raising sunken vessels and a smoke helmet for firemen.’
  • ‘Anyone who wants to make a better mousetrap has to invent around existing mousetrap patents.’
  • ‘Destiny leads you to discovering cures and inventing life saving devices.’
  • ‘Making the wooden soccer ball involved developing wood-cutting techniques and inventing a new type of glue.’
  • ‘Creativity comes from recognizing or inventing problems that require innovative uses of tools.’
  • ‘To them, innovation seems to mean inventing something never before seen on Earth.’
  • ‘The test that he came up with was a series of tasks, like counting coins, inventing things.’
  • ‘We think that we have the right resources to be creative and invent innovative solutions.’
  • ‘We knew that we wanted to invent something that would be a leap ahead in design and effectiveness.’
  • ‘I believe somebody once said, ‘If religion did not exist man would have to invent it’.’
  • ‘If extreme sports didn't exist big business would have to invent them.’
  • ‘As it happens, he is in the process of inventing a new form of education, designed to help us all become generalists rather than specialists.’
  • ‘Whenever someone invents something there are always going to be people out there trying to exploit that invention for evil intent.’
  • ‘Although Allen Lane did not invent the idea, he was certainly responsible for its initial success.’

  Synonyms

  originate, create, innovate, design, devise, contrive, formulate, develop

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1Make up (an idea, name, story, etc.), especially so as to deceive someone.
     ‘I did not have to invent any tales about my past’
     More example sentences

     • ‘When coming across names one has never heard of, one invents stories about Markson's following behind the epitaphic perspective.’
     • ‘Pari, in turn, would invent long stories and narrate them to her friend.’
     • ‘Last year, police said So confessed during interrogation to inventing her story because she wanted to write a novel.’
     • ‘McCafferty invents a place name model he associates with the authority of Lounsbury, where no association exits.’
     • ‘She asked, inventing a street name so that the girl would not be able to say without looking at the map.’
     • ‘On Sunday nights my mother used to read us a Bible story and only after that would she agree to my father inventing a serial story aided by the family.’
     • ‘I have invented a name for my own highly individual style of present wrapping.’
     • ‘He invents a story about an underdog boxer and his manager.’
     • ‘I invented the story of this Roman woman who went to a fort south of Hadrian's Wall to join her husband.’
     • ‘So he invents another name, common to them and him, such as ‘man,’ and leaves ‘giant’ to the fictitious object that impressed him during his illusion.’
     • ‘This does not stop the person from giving a ‘sensible’ response: He or she examines the relevant output and invents a story to account for it.’
     • ‘To stay in the house, she invents the story that she is a runaway juvenile delinquent, and kind of blackmails the goodhearted Prof. Patterson, who is all worried about propriety.’
     • ‘Emily Elizabeth's friend Jetta finds she has to keep telling more lies after she invents a story about a pet parrot who is even bigger than Clifford.’
     • ‘Karnad also invents a frame story to exaggerate the literary themes and meanings in the central episode, and it is this frame that gives the play its name.’
     • ‘It is also Victorio who takes away Pilar and Gabriel's child and invents an elaborate story so that the child may be raised in legitimacy.’
     • ‘In the evenings he has dinner with his mom and creatively invents stories about Rudy Sr., the father he's never met.’
     • ‘He asks Huck why he was following the men, and Huck invents a story.’
     • ‘Kedar, unable to tell the truth, invents a story: Attar Singh has sent Panna Lal to Bombay on business.’
     • ‘She invents outlandish stories to get the sympathy and attention she craves.’
     • ‘He's a very reserved young man, so people talk and they invent funny tales about him.’
     Synonyms

     make up, fabricate, concoct, hatch, dream up, trump up, manufacture

     View synonyms