Word
invent
Phoneticsin·vent
US/ˌɪnˈvɛnt/
UK/ɪnvˈɛnt/
Definitions
01to create a new thing
v. to design or create something that did not exist before, such as a machine or a tool.
v. to devise or produce a new device, method, or process through original thought or experimentation.
“Alexander Graham Bell is famous because he helped invent the telephone.”
“Engineers are working to invent a more efficient battery that can store solar energy for several days without losing power.”
Usage
This is a transitive verb and requires a direct object.
Pitfall
Who invented the America?
Who discovered America?
Use 'invent' for things people create (like a phone). Use 'discover' for things that already existed but were unknown (like a country).
02to make up a story
v. to make up a story, an excuse, or a lie.
v. to fabricate or concoct a story, excuse, or piece of information, often to deceive or entertain.
“He had to invent a good excuse for being late to the meeting.”
“The novelist spent months trying to invent a believable world where magic and technology coexisted peacefully.”
Synonyms
Confusables
Discover is finding something that was already there; invent is creating something that never existed before.
RememberDiscover = Uncover. Invent = Intent.
Etymology
From Middle English inventen, borrowed from Old French inventer, from Latin inventus, perfect passive participle of inveniō (“come upon, meet with, find, discover”), from in (“in, on”) + veniō (“come”); see venture. Compare advent, covent, event, prevent, etc. Displaced native Old English āþenċan (literally “to think out”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
not invented here — Invented outside one's own organization (referring to the knee-jerk dismissal of products, technologies, etc. that come from third parties).
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/invent