invite
gb/ˈɪnvaɪt/ us/ˈɪnvaɪt/
A2
English
~ 1600
Senses
0 senses
Verb
A2
action
1
Ask someone to attend
To ask someone to come to a place or event.
Usage pattern:
to invite [someone] to [an event/place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'invite' with 'call' or 'tell' when talking about events, but 'invite' specifically means asking someone to come.
Synonyms
ask (More general; can be used for any request, not just for attending.)
|
request (More formal and less personal than 'invite'.)
Antonyms
uninvite (To take back an invitation already given.)
Collocations
invite guests
|invite friends
|invite someone over
|invite someone to dinner
|invite someone to a party
Themes
daily life
|social
|communication
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- We decided to invite all our neighbors to the barbecue.
- She invited me to her birthday party next week.
- He invited several colleagues over for dinner.
- They invited us to visit them in Paris.
- I invited my parents to stay for the weekend.
Learner examples
- I invited my friend to my house.
- She invited us to her wedding.
- We invited him to the party.
- They invited me to dinner.
- He invited his parents to visit.
Verb
B2
action
2
Cause or encourage something
To do something that makes a result more likely, often a bad one.
Usage pattern:
to invite [trouble/criticism/attack/etc.]
Common mistake:
Learners may take this meaning literally and think it involves asking someone in person; it's figurative for causing a situation.
Synonyms
provoke (Implies actively causing a reaction, often negative.)
|
encourage (More general; can be positive or negative.)
Antonyms
avoid (To keep away from something, preventing it from happening.)
Collocations
invite trouble
|invite criticism
|invite disaster
Themes
communication
|risk
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Ignoring safety rules invites accidents.
- His rude comments invited criticism from the audience.
- Poor planning invites problems later on.
- Leaving valuables in your car invites theft.
- Not preparing for the meeting invites failure.
Learner examples
- Not wearing a helmet invites injury.
- Being late invites trouble.
- Loud noise at night invites complaints.
- Leaving the door open invites problems.
- Bad behavior invites punishment.
Noun
B1
entity
3
Request to attend an event
A short way of saying 'invitation'. It means a request to come somewhere.
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize 'invite' as a noun is informal and should be avoided in formal writing; use 'invitation' instead.
Synonyms
invitation (The standard and more formal term.)
Collocations
send an invite
|get an invite
|accept an invite
Themes
daily life
|social
|communication
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- I got an invite to their wedding.
- She sent me a Facebook invite.
- Did you get an invite for the launch party?
- He handed me an invite on the street.
- We mailed out the invites last week.
Learner examples
- I got an invite to the party.
- She sent me an invite by email.
- We sent invites to all friends.
- He gave me an invite yesterday.
- They got invites for the show.
Grammar
Dictionary form
invite
IPA
GB/ˈɪnvaɪt/
US/ˈɪnvaɪt/
Syllables & stress
in - vite (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (in)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: invite
- 3rd Person Singular: invites
- Present Participle: inviting
- Past: invited
Word family
Forms
invites
verb
inviting
verb
invited
verb
Core family
invitation
noun B1
Negative and opposite forms
uninvited
adjective
uninviting
adjective
Advanced or less common
invitee
noun
invitingly
adverb B2
Expressions
be invited to do something
1/bˈi ɪnvˈaɪtɪd tə dˈu sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
Asked politely to do something or attend
When someone asks you in a polite way to do something or go somewhere.
Examples
- I was invited to speak at the conference.
- They were invited to join the meeting.
invite someone over
1/ɪnvˈaɪt sˈʌmwˌʌn ˈoʊvɚ/
fixed phrase
Ask someone to visit your home
To ask a person to come to your home for a short time.
Examples
- We invited our neighbors over for coffee.
- She often invites friends over on weekends.
invite trouble
1/ɪnvˈaɪt tɹˈʌbəl/
fixed phrase
Act in a way that causes problems
To do something that makes bad things more likely to happen.
Examples
- Walking alone at night in that area is just inviting trouble.
- If you drive so fast, you're inviting trouble.