invention

noun in·ven·tion \ in-ˈven(t)-shən \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of invention

1 : discovery, finding

2 : productive imagination : inventiveness

3 a : something invented: such as

(1) : a product of the imagination; especially : a false conception

(2) : a device, contrivance, or process originated after study and experiment

b : a short keyboard composition featuring two- or three-part counterpoint

4 : the act or process of inventing

See invention defined for English-language learners

See invention defined for kids

Examples of invention in a Sentence

The light bulb was one of the most important inventions of the 19th century.
The stories he told about his military service were just inventions.
His explanation was pure invention.
Parts of the movie were accurate, but much of it was invention.
the invention of a new product
the invention of a false story
an artist with exceptional powers of invention

Recent Examples of invention from the Web

The insulator has been used for more than 150 years, first with the invention of the telegraph and then with the development of the telephone and electrical industries.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Enfield Edition," 3 Apr. 2018
For him, the year 1932 was a cavalcade of public praise and private indulgences, a year when stylistic invention tipped into frenzy.

— jason farago, New York Times, "Picasso in 1932: Ingenious, Exhausting, Relentless," 2 Apr. 2018
Eventually, baseball lost its paramount place in American leisure time with the invention of television and the rise of pro football The freedom given to children in the young 20th century will never again be devoted almost completely to one sport.

— bill livingston, cleveland.com, "Tinker to Evers to Chance: The rise of baseball and childhood -- Bill Livingston," 29 Mar. 2018
But since the cocktail renaissance took hold in the early 2000s, classics beget interpretation begets invention.

— liza weisstuch, BostonGlobe.com, "Sips: A new classic at Ruka," 29 Mar. 2018
The Americans had far surpassed the Russians by then in most types of technology, not least with the invention of the internet and the personal computer.

— simon shuster, Time, "This KGB Chief Rang the Alarm About Russia-U.S. Cyberwars. No One Listened.," 23 Mar. 2018
But necessity is the mother of innovation, and perhaps, unlike most prior technological inventions, bitcoin will be driven into the mainstream by economies that are failing rather than thriving.

— cady voge, WIRED, "Where Could Bitcoin Succeed as a Currency? In a Failed State," 22 Mar. 2018
Goldberg was a man of thousands of ideas and hundreds of mad inventions that made simple things complicated.

— carl nolte, San Francisco Chronicle, "The work of Rube Goldberg — artist, inventor, adjective — on display in SF," 15 Mar. 2018
That changed briefly with the invention of the laser, but the actual imaging technology was still...

— chris lee, Ars Technica, "Imaging at 1,000fps with a single pixel," 15 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'invention.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

What is the difference between innovation and invention?

The words innovation and invention overlap semantically but are really quite distinct.

Invention can refer to a type of musical composition, a falsehood, a discovery, or any product of the imagination. The sense of invention most likely to be confused with innovation is “a device, contrivance, or process originated after study and experiment,” usually something which has not previously been in existence.

Innovation, for its part, can refer to something new or to a change made to an existing product, idea, or field. One might say that the first telephone was an invention, the first cellular telephone either an invention or an innovation, and the first smartphone an innovation.

First Known Use of invention

14th century

invention Synonyms

INVENTION Defined for Kids

invention

noun in·ven·tion \ in-ˈven-shən \

Definition of invention for Students

1 : an original device or process

2 : ³lie

The story was just an invention.

3 : the act or process of inventing

4 : the ability to think of new ideas

He was a man of invention.

Law Dictionary

invention

noun in·ven·tion

legal Definition of invention

: a device, process, or discovery under U.S. patent law that is new and useful, that reflects extraordinary creative ability or skill, and that makes a distinct and recognized contribution to and advancement of science; also : the act or process of creating such an invention — compare aggregation, combination, equivalent