To invent means to create something that has never existed before. When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he figured out how to use electricity to produce light in a way no one had done successfully before. When the Wright brothers invented the airplane, they built the first machine that could carry a person through the air with powered, controlled flight.

Inventors solve problems or fulfill needs in completely new ways. Before the invention of the printing press, books had to be copied by hand, which took months. Johannes Gutenberg's invention changed the world by making it possible to produce books quickly and share knowledge widely. Before the invention of the telephone, people couldn't talk to someone far away except by traveling or sending letters.

Not every new thing is an invention. If you rearrange furniture in your room, that's creative, but you haven't invented anything. But if you design a new kind of bookmark that holds your page and lights up in the dark, that's an invention because you've created something that didn't exist before.

The word can also mean making something up, like when someone invents an excuse for being late. When used this way, it suggests the story isn't true. A person who invents things is called an inventor.