Definition of invention
2 : productive imagination : inventiveness
3a : something invented: such as (1) : a product of the imagination; especially : a false conception (2) : a device, contrivance, or process originated after study and experimentb : a short keyboard composition featuring two- or three-part counterpoint
4 : the act or process of inventing
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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
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O’Neill, a Colorado native, said at the time his friends didn’t have much faith in his invention.
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Company founder J.M. Lapeyer, (Laitram is his middle name spelled backwards), earned 191 U.S. patents and started other companies based on his industry inventions before his death in 1989, according to the company's website.
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O’Neill said at the time his friends didn’t have much faith in his invention.
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O'Neill said at the time his friends didn't have much faith in his invention.
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The God of War makes an appearance, as well, as does a tremendous amount of balletic slow-motion combat, rendered with more zip and invention than usual.
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Impression said Lexmark, based in Lexington, Kentucky, had already been paid for the use of its inventions and had exhausted its rights.
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In a long line of great Japanese inventions, from karate to sushi to the DVD, emojis may just about be one of Japan's greatest-ever exports.
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At the World’s Fair, Erickson befriended famed horticulturist Luther Burbank, whose inventions included the crimson Phenomenal berry, a blackberry-raspberry cross similar to a loganberry.
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.
14th Century
First Known Use of invention
14th century
INVENTION Defined for Kids
Law Dictionary
invention
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
Learn More about invention
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See words that rhyme with invention Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for invention Spanish Central: Translation of invention Nglish: Translation of invention for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of invention for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about invention
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