Invent
- Invent
- Invent In*vent", v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Invented}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Inventing}.] [L. inventus, p. p. of invenire to come
upon, to find, invent; pref. in- in + venire to come, akin to
E. come: cf. F. inventer. See {Come}.]
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1. To come or light upon; to meet; to find. [Obs.]
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And vowed never to return again,
Till him alive or dead she did invent. --Spenser.
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2. To discover, as by study or inquiry; to find out; to
devise; to contrive or produce for the first time; --
applied commonly to the discovery of some serviceable
mode, instrument, or machine.
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Thus first Necessity invented stools. --Cowper.
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3. To frame by the imagination; to fabricate mentally; to
forge; -- in a good or a bad sense; as, to invent the
machinery of a poem; to invent a falsehood.
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Whate'er his cruel malice could invent. --Milton.
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He had invented some circumstances, and put the
worst possible construction on others. --Sir W.
Scott.
Syn: To discover; contrive; devise; frame; design; fabricate;
concoct; elaborate. See {Discover}.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
2000.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
invent — 1 *contrive, devise, frame, concoct Analogous words: initiate, inaugurate (see BEGIN): institute, *found, establish 2 Invent, create, discover are comparable terms frequently confused in the sense of to bring into being something new. Invent (see … New Dictionary of Synonyms
invent — in‧vent [ɪnˈvent] verb [transitive] 1. to make, design or produce something new or a new way of doing something: • Percy Spencer invented the microwave oven. • Mr. Monaghan virtually invented the modern pizza delivery business when he founded… … Financial and business terms
invent — in·vent vt: to create or produce for the first time in·ven·tor n Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. invent … Law dictionary
invent — [v1] create, think up ad lib, author, bear, bring into being, coin, come upon, come up with, compose, conceive, contrive, cook up*, design, devise, discover, dream up, envision, execute, fake, fashion, find, forge, form, formulate, frame, hatch,… … New thesaurus
invent — [in vent′] vt. [ME inventen < L inventus, pp. of invenire, to come upon, meet with, discover < in , in, on + venire, to COME] 1. to think up; devise or fabricate in the mind [to invent excuses] 2. to think out or produce (a new device,… … English World dictionary
invent — (v.) late 15c., find, discover, a back formation from invention or else from L. inventus, pp. of invenire “to come upon; devise, discover” (see INVENTION (Cf. invention)). Meaning make up, think up is from 1530s, as is that of produce by… … Etymology dictionary
invent — ► VERB 1) create or design (a new device, process, etc.). 2) make up (a false story, name, etc.). DERIVATIVES inventor noun. ORIGIN Latin invenire contrive, discover … English terms dictionary
invent */*/ — UK [ɪnˈvent] / US verb [transitive] Word forms invent : present tense I/you/we/they invent he/she/it invents present participle inventing past tense invented past participle invented Collocations: If you are the first person to make a new type of … English dictionary
invent — inventible, inventable, adj. /in vent /, v.t. 1. to originate or create as a product of one s own ingenuity, experimentation, or contrivance: to invent the telegraph. 2. to produce or create with the imagination: to invent a story. 3. to make up… … Universalium
invent — [[t]ɪnve̱nt[/t]] invents, inventing, invented 1) VERB If you invent something such as a machine or process, you are the first person to think of it or make it. [V n] He invented the first electric clock... [V n] Writing had not been invented as… … English dictionary
