innovation
noun
Did you know?
What is the difference between innovation and invention?
The words innovation and invention overlap semantically but are really quite distinct.
Invention can refer to a type of musical composition, a falsehood, a discovery, or any product of the imagination. The sense of invention most likely to be confused with innovation is “a device, contrivance, or process originated after study and experiment,” usually something which has not previously been in existence.
Innovation, for its part, can refer to something new or to a change made to an existing product, idea, or field. One might say that the first telephone was an invention, the first cellular telephone either an invention or an innovation, and the first smartphone an innovation.
Synonyms
Examples of innovation in a Sentence
Roomy Khan, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Shoe brands have increasingly leaned on innovation to boost sales, and with so much diversity in the casual shoe market, Gen Z and Gen Alpha have a wealth of trendy shoe options, which means Crocs could easily have its grip loosened on teens’ and tweens’ closets.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2024
Twenty-five daring designers embraced the unique challenge to transform the vacant office building—drop ceilings and all—into a showplace for the latest trends and innovations in design.
—Anne Lee Phillips, Architectural Digest, 28 Oct. 2024
Despite nurturing world-class innovation, many of our most promising companies have consistently shunned listing publicly in the UK.
—James McClure, Fortune Europe, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for innovation 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'innovation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Innovation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innovation. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
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innovation
noun
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