INVENT1 to think of a new idea, design, or name for something2 someone who invents something3 something that someone has inventedRELATED WORDSsee alsoIDEANEWDESIGNMAKE1 to think of a new idea, design, or name for something 为某物构思出一个新想法、新设计或新名称invent /ɪnˈvent/ [transitive verb]to think of an idea for a new product, machine etc for the first time, and design it and make it 发明，创造〔产品、机器等〕 Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. 亚历山大·格雷厄姆·贝尔发明了电话。 Television was invented in the 1920s. 电视是20世纪20年代发明的。 Theremin invented the weird electronic instrument that provided soundtracks to 1950s science-fiction movies. 塞里明发明了奇怪的电子乐器，这种乐器为20世纪50年代的科幻电影做配乐录音。invention [uncountable noun]when someone has invented a new product 发明，创造invent of This discovery was to lead to the invention of the nuclear bomb. 这一发现引致了核弹的发明。create /kriˈeɪt/ [transitive verb]to make something new in art, literature, fashion etc 〔在艺术、文学、时装等方面〕创造，发明 Agatha Christie created the character Hercule Poirot. 阿加莎·克里斯蒂创造出了赫尔克里·波洛这个角色。 Mary Quant created a whole new look for women's clothes in the 1960s. 玛丽官在20世纪60年代设计出了令人眼界大开的女性时装。come up with/think up /ˌkʌm ˈʌp wɪð, ˌθɪŋk ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]informalto produce a new idea, name, method etc by thinking carefully about it 【非正式】想出，构思出〔新想法、名字、方法等〕think up/come up with something See if you can come up with a better name for it. 你看能不能给它想一个更好的名称。 We need to think up some new ideas for the Christmas show. 我们要给圣诞演出想些新主意。think something up We don't just think this stuff up. It's the way good lawyers always operate. 这可不是我们想出来的。好的律师向来就是按此方法做事的。devise /dɪˈvaɪz/ [transitive verb]to invent a way of doing something, especially one that is clever and complicated 设计，策划，发明 The exercise programme was devised by a leading health expert. 这个锻炼方案是由一名著名的健康专家设计的。 Scientists have devised a test that shows who is most likely to get the disease. 科学家发明了一种测试方法，此方法可显示哪一种人最易患这种病。make up /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]to invent something such as a story or song, usually without writing it down 即兴编造，创作，虚构〔故事、歌曲等〕make up something For Halloween, the children made up stories about wolves and witches. 过万圣节时，小孩子们编出狼和巫婆的故事。 When my mother was in a good mood, she would make up songs about us. 我妈妈心情好时会编有关我们的歌曲。make something up That's a good riddle. Did you make it up yourself? 那是个不错的谜语。是你自己想出来的吗？conceive /kənˈsiːv/ [intransitive/transitive verb]formalto think of a new idea, plan, or piece of work and develop it in your mind, until it is ready to be used, made etc 【正式】设想，构想，想出〔新的主意、计划或作品〕 ‘We wanted to make something new and original,’ said Colin Smith, the man who conceived the show. “我们想编出富有新意和独创性的东西，”这出戏的创意人科林·史密斯说道。 The painting is beautifully conceived in every way -- composition, colour and texture. 那幅画各方面的构思都很美妙—无论是布局、色彩，还是质感。conceive of The young Edvard Munch conceived of a radically new approach to his art. 年轻的爱德华·蒙克为他的艺术创出一种全新的表达方式。dream up /ˌdriːm ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]to think of a plan, idea, method etc, especially one that other people think is strange or unlikely to succeed 凭空想出，异想天开地想出〔尤指别人认为不可能成功的计划或方法〕dream up something Banks seem to spend a lot of time dreaming up ways to get more money from their customers. 银行似乎花了许多时间来想办法从客户那里赚取更多的钱。 The machine looked like it had been dreamed up by a surrealist painter. 这台机器看上去好像是某个超现实主义画家想出来的。dream something up ‘It's too complicated for me,’ Polly whispered; ‘how do they dream these things up?’ “对我来说这太复杂了。”波莉低声说，“他们是怎么想出这些玩艺的？”coin /kɔɪn/ [transitive verb]to invent a word or phrase 创造，想出〔新词〕 The term ‘black hole’ was coined in 1969 by the American scientist John Wheeler. “黑洞”这一术语是由美国科学家约翰：惠勒在1969年创造的。 A Polish refugee coined the term ‘genocide’ to describe attempts to kill an entire group of people. 一名波兰难民首创了“种族灭绝”一词来描述对整个种族进行屠杀的企图。coinage /ˈkɔɪnɪdʒ/ [countable noun] The word ‘yuppie’ is a coinage of the 1960s which found a new fame in the 1980s. “雅皮士”一词是在20世纪60年代创造出来的，到20世纪80年代该词又重新流行起来。2 someone who invents something 发明某事物的人inventor /ɪnˈventəʳ/ [countable noun]someone who has invented something, or whose job is to invent things, especially machines 发明家，发明者〔尤指发明机器的人〕 Franklin was a scientist, an inventor, and a statesman. 富兰克林是科学家、发明家和政治家。 Marconi was the inventor of radio. 马可尼是无线电的发明者。 The patent lists six inventors who worked on the system. 专利证书上列出了六位参与设计这一系统的发明人。creator /kriˈeɪtəʳ/ [countable noun]the writer, artist, or designer who first produced a well-known story, character, fashion etc 创造者，发明者〔指作家、艺术家或时装设计师这一类〕：creator of Walt Disney, the creator of Mickey Mouse 沃尔特·迪斯尼，米老鼠的创造者 Diaghilev is considered by many to be the creator of the first modern dance company. 许多人认为佳吉列夫是第一家现代舞蹈团的创始人。originator /əˈrɪdʒɪneɪtəʳ, əˈrɪdʒəneɪtəʳ/ [noun phrase]the person who first invented something, especially an idea 〔尤思想、主意的〕首创者，第一个想出来的人originator of Stokely Carmichael was probably the originator of the term ‘black power.’ 斯托克利·卡迈克尔可能是“黑人权力”一词的发明人。 Alberti was the originator of the violin's design even though Stradivari made it famous. 阿马蒂是小提琴的设计人，但斯特拉迪瓦里是使这一设计出名的制琴师。the father of something /ðə ˈfɑːðər əv something/ [noun phrase]the man who first invented a new way of thinking or a new area of study, or who first tried new methods, practices etc 某物的发明者，创始人，…之父 Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was born in 1856. 心理分析之父西格蒙德·弗洛伊德生于1856年。 Lowe was the real father of modern computing and a very important figure in IBM's ranks. 洛是真正的现代电脑之父，也是国际商业机器公司中非常重要的人物。3 something that someone has invented 发明的事物invention /ɪnˈvenʃən/ [countable noun] The Hydro-Ram is an invention which makes it easier for firemen to get people out of crashed cars. 水压撞锤是一项发明，使得消防员把人从撞毁的车辆中救出来的工作变得容易多了。 The wedge is an important early mechanical invention. 楔子是一项重要的早期机械发明。 More than any other single invention, writing has transformed human consciousness. 文字比其他任何一项发明都更显著地改变了人类的意识。creation /kriˈeɪʃən/ [countable noun]something such as a completely new fashion, a character in a book etc, that someone has invented using their imagination 创造 Agatha Christie's greatest fictional creation was the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. 阿加莎·克里斯蒂在小说方面的最大创造就是比利时侦探赫尔克里·波洛。 Chef Michael Almay's creations will make you want to come back again and again. 厨师迈克尔·奥梅创作的菜肴会让你一次又一次地做他们的回头客。innovation /ˌɪnəˈveɪʃən/ [countable noun]something new that is being used for the first time, or a new way of doing something 创新，革新 In those days, the automobile was a recent innovation. 那时，汽车还是刚出现不久的新事物。 Electric lighting was still considered a daring innovation when it was installed in my grandfather's house. 我祖父的房子里装电灯时，电灯尚被视为一项大胆的革新。innovation in Innovations in information technology have completely transformed the way students work. 信息技术的革新已彻底改变了学生的学习方式。brainchild /ˈbreɪntʃaɪld/ [singular noun]something that a particular person invented, especially something such as an idea, method, or system 智力产儿，新创造brainchild of The new computer system is the brainchild of our systems manager. 这种新电脑是我们的系统主管的新创造。 A new game, the brainchild of Andrew Wilson, was launched in 1999. 1999年推出了一种新游戏，那是安德鲁·威尔逊的发明。