Dictionary

invert en · ADJ · etymology 1

Etymology

From Middle French invertir.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Subjected to the process of inversion; inverted; converted.
   • invert sugar

invert en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪn.vəɹt/ (General-American)
• /ˈɪn.vət/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• ĭnʹvərt (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle French invertir.

Meanings

1. An inverted arch (as in a sewer).
2. The base of a tunnel on which the road or railway may be laid and used when construction is through unstable ground. It may be flat or form a continuous curve with the tunnel arch.
3. The lowest point inside a pipe at a certain point.
4. An elevation of a pipe at a certain point along the pipe.
5. A skateboarding and snowboarding trick where the skater grabs the board and plants a hand on the coping so as to balance upside-down on the lip of a ramp.
6. (obsolete) A homosexual person, in terms of the sexual inversion theory.
   • We can seldom, therefore, congratulate ourselves on the success of any "cure" of inversion. The success is unlikely to be either permanent or complete, in the case of a decided invert; and in the most successful cases we have simply put into the invert's hands a power of reproduction which it is undesirable he should possess. 1897, W. Havelock Ellis, Sexual Inversion, page 202:
7. (Internet, qualifier:conspiracy theories) Of a person, assumed to be transgender, in terms of transvestigation.

Forms

Deriveds

Jenny invert · invert enzyme

Translations (1)

bg обърнат свод (architecture: inverted arch)

invert en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ɪnˈvɜːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• ĭn-vərtʹ (General-American)
• (Canada) audio
• /ɪnˈvɜɹt/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle French invertir.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To turn (something) upside down or inside out; to place in a contrary order or direction; to make (something) the opposite of it.
   • to invert a cup, the order of words, rules of justice, etc.
   • ob-: used as a prefix inverts the term affixed. [1936], “Glossary of Botanical Terms Used”, in J[ames] S[ykes] Gamble, Flora of the Presidency of Madras, volume I, London: Adlard & Son, […], →OCLC, page xxix:
   • Seldom, alas! the power of logic reigns / With much ſufficiency in royal brains. / Such reaſ'ning falls like an inverted cone, / Wanting its proper baſe to ſtand upon. 1781 (date written), William Cowper, “Table Talk”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1782, →OCLC, page 4:
   • That doth inuert th’atteſt of eyes and eares, / As if thoſe organs were deceptions^([sic – meaning deceptious]) functions, […] c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], signatures K3, verso – [K4], recto:
2. (transitive) To move (the root note of a chord) up or down an octave, resulting in a change in pitch.
3. (intransitive) To undergo inversion, as sugar.
4. To divert; to convert to a wrong use.
   • [H]e had miſgouerned the ſtate, inuerted his treaſures to his owne priuat […] 1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes, […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC:
5. To turn (the foot) inwards.

Forms

Antonyms

standardise · unreverse · normalize

Deriveds

invert sugar · invertive · invertomer · reinvert · invertor · invertasome · invertase · invertible · uninvert · invertin · inverted

Hyponyms

flip the script · turn the tables

Relateds

convert · inversion

Synonyms

up-end · reverse · invert

Translations (34)

nl omdraaien (turn upside down or inside out) · cy gwrthdroi (turn upside down or inside out) · ru переверну́ть (turn upside down or inside out) · de invertieren (turn upside down or inside out) · nl omkeren (turn upside down or inside out) · cy cildroi (turn upside down or inside out) · he הָפַך (turn upside down or inside out) · mi huri kōaro (turn upside down or inside out) · ru инверти́ровать (turn upside down or inside out) · ca invertir (turn upside down or inside out) · pt inverter (turn upside down or inside out) · ja 反転 (turn upside down or inside out) · hu felfordít (turn upside down or inside out) · tr terslemek (turn upside down or inside out) · ru вы́вернуть (turn upside down or inside out) · ga aisiompaigh (turn upside down or inside out) · hu invertál (turn upside down or inside out) · es invertir (turn upside down or inside out) · de umdrehen (turn upside down or inside out) · cmn 倒转 (turn upside down or inside out) · cmn 反转 (turn upside down or inside out) · fr invertir (turn upside down or inside out) · sk obrátiť (turn upside down or inside out) · fi kääntää (turn upside down or inside out) · it invertire (turn upside down or inside out) · cy gwrthdroi (move (the root note of a chord) up or down an octave) · et pöörama (turn upside down or inside out) · la invertō (turn upside down or inside out) · bg преобръщам (turn upside down or inside out) · oc invertir (turn upside down or inside out) · fi kääntää ylösalaisin (turn upside down or inside out) · mi huripoki (turn upside down or inside out) · hu kifordít (turn upside down or inside out) · hu (swapping) megfordít (turn upside down or inside out)

invert en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪn.vəɹt/ (General-American)
• /ˈɪn.vət/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• ĭnʹvərt (General-American)

Etymology

Abbreviation of invertebrate.

Meanings

1. (informal) An invertebrate.

Forms