FluentPlex

invention

/ɪnˈvɛnʃən/ noun A2
  1. Something invented. (countable, uncountable) · My new invention will let you alphabetize your matchbook collection in half the usual time.· I’m afraid there was no burglar. It was all the housekeeper’s invention.
  2. The act of inventing. (countable, uncountable) · The invention of the printing press was probably the most significant innovation of the medieval ages.
  3. The capacity to invent. (countable, uncountable) · It took quite a bit of invention to come up with a plan, but we did it.
  4. A small, self-contained composition, particularly those in J.S. Bach’s Two- and Three-part Inventions. (countable, uncountable) · I particularly like the inventions in C-minor.

Plural inventions

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From the library

During the six years which had passed since Noirtier first fell into this sad state, Valentine’s powers of invention had been too often put to the test not to render her expert in devising expedients for gaining a knowledge of his wishes, and the constant practice had so perfected her in the art that she guessed the old man’s meaning as quickly as if he himself had been able to seek for what he wanted.
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 615 · C1
Bennet’s invention was again at work to get everybody away from him and her daughter.
Pride and Prejudice, p. 326 · B2
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Three Hundred Aesop's Fables, p. 65 · B2
He is not an invention.
The Valley of Fear, p. 80 · C1

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Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.