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invert - 10 dictionary results

in⋅vert

  [v. in-vurt; adj., n. in-vurt]
Use invert in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to turn upside down.
2. to reverse in position, order, direction, or relationship.
3. to turn or change to the opposite or contrary, as in nature, bearing, or effect: to invert a process.
4. to turn inward or back upon itself.
5. to turn inside out.
6. Chemistry. to subject to inversion.
7. Music. to subject to musical inversion.
8. Phonetics. to articulate as a retroflex vowel.
–verb (used without object)
9. Chemistry. to become inverted.
–adjective
10. Chemistry. subjected to inversion.
–noun
11. a person or thing that is inverted.
12. a homosexual.
13. (in plumbing) that portion of the interior of a drain or sewer pipe where the liquid is deepest.
14. an inverted arch or vault.
15. Philately. a two-colored postage stamp with all or part of the central design printed upside down in relation to the inscription.
Origin:
1525–35; < L invertere to turn upside down or inside out, equiv. to in- in- 2 + vertere to turn; see verse

Related forms:
in⋅vert⋅i⋅ble, adjective
in⋅vert⋅i⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

Synonyms:
2. See reverse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To invert
in·vert   (ĭn-vûrt')   
v.   in·vert·ed, in·vert·ing, in·verts

v.   tr.
  1. To turn inside out or upside down: invert an hourglass.
  2. To reverse the position, order, or condition of: invert the subject and predicate of a sentence.
  3. To subject to inversion. See Synonyms at reverse.
v.   intr.
To be subjected to inversion.
n.   (ĭn'vûrt')
  1. Something inverted.
  2. Psychology
    1. One who takes on the gender role of the opposite sex.
    2. In the theory of Sigmund Freud, a homosexual person. No longer in scientific use.

[Latin invertere : in-, in; see in-2 + vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]
in·vert'i·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Invert

In*vert"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inverted; p. pr. & vb. n. Inverting.] [L. invertere, inversum; pref. in- in + vertere to turn. See Verse.]

1. To turn over; to put upside down; to upset; to place in a contrary order or direction; to reverse; as, to invert a cup, the order of words, rules of justice, etc.

That doth invert the attest of eyes and ears, As if these organs had deceptious functions. --Shak.

Such reasoning falls like an inverted cone, Wanting its proper base to stand upon. --Cowper.

2. (Mus.) To change the position of; -- said of tones which form a chord, or parts which compose harmony.

3. To divert; to convert to a wrong use. [Obs.] --Knolles.

4. (Chem.) To convert; to reverse; to decompose by, or subject to, inversion. See Inversion, n., 10.

Invert

In*vert"\, v. i. (Chem.) To undergo inversion, as sugar.

Invert

In"vert\, a. (Chem.) Subjected to the process of inversion; inverted; converted; as, invert sugar.

Invert sugar (Chem.), a variety of sugar, consisting of a mixture of dextrose and levulose, found naturally in fruits, and produced artificially by the inversion of cane sugar (sucrose); also, less properly, the grape sugar or dextrose obtained from starch. See Inversion, Dextrose, Levulose, and Sugar.

Invert

In"vert\, n. (Masonry) An inverted arch.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : invert
Spanish: invertir,
German: umkehren,
Japanese: 逆にする
More Translations »

invert 
1533, from M.Fr. invertir, from L. invertere "turn upside down, turn about," from in- "in, on" + vertere "to turn" see versus). Inversion is from 1551.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1in·vert
Pronunciation: in-'v&rt
Function: transitive verb
1 a : to reverse in position, order, or relationshipinverted> b : to subject to inversion
2 a : to turn inside out or upside down b : to turn inward inverted its forepart tends to approach the midline of the body —Journal of the American Medical Association>invert intransitive senses
: to undergo inversion inverts later in life can be an ominous sign —P. G. Donohue>

Main Entry: 2in·vert
Pronunciation: 'in-"v&rt
Function: noun
: one characterized by inversion; especially : HOMOSEXUAL
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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invert in·vert (ĭn-vûrt')
v. in·vert·ed, in·vert·ing, in·verts

  1. To turn inside out or upside down.
  2. To reverse the position, order, or condition of.
  3. To subject to inversion.
n. (ĭn'vûrt')
  1. Something inverted.
  2. One who takes on the gender role of the opposite sex.
  3. A homosexual. Used in psychology.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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