- [countable] a thing or an idea that has been invented
- Fax machines were a wonderful invention at the time.
- He failed to patent his invention and never made a penny from it.
Extra ExamplesTopics Historya2- The two friends started a company to market their invention.
- This combination of cheese and apples is not an invention of the north of England.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- latest
- new
- modern
- …
- come up with
- design
- license
- …
- [uncountable] the act of inventing something
- Such changes have not been seen since the invention of the printing press.
- After the war, Westinghouse devoted himself to invention.
- [countable, uncountable] the act of inventing a story or an idea and pretending that it is true; a story invented in this way
- This story is apparently a complete invention.
- Most of what she says is pure invention.
- What would he tell his parents? Some invention and quick thinking—that’s what was needed.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- pure
- power of invention
- powers of invention
- [uncountable] the ability to have new and interesting ideas
- John was full of invention—always making up new dance steps and sequences.
- Her powers of invention were somewhat limited.
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘finding out, discovery’): from Latin inventio(n-), from invenire ‘discover’, from in- ‘into’ + venire ‘come’.
Idioms
See invention in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee invention in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishnecessity is the mother of invention
- (saying) a difficult new problem forces people to think of a solution to it
Check pronunciation:
invention