devise

American  

[dih-vahyz] / dɪˈvaɪz /

verb (used with object)

devised, devising

1. to contrive, plan, or elaborate; invent from existing principles or ideas.

   to devise a method.

2. Theater. to develop (a play) collaboratively with the performers.

   Based on the lives of women in engineering, the students devised the play themselves.

3. Law. to assign or transmit (property) by will.

4. Archaic. to imagine; suppose.

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verb (used without object)

devised, devising

1. to form a plan; contrive.

noun

1. Law.

   1. the act of disposing of property, especially real property, by will.

   2. a will or clause in a will disposing of property, especially real property.

   3. the property so disposed of.

devise British  

/ dɪˈvaɪz /

verb

1. to work out, contrive, or plan (something) in one's mind

2. (tr) law to dispose of (property, esp real property) by will

3. obsolete (tr) to imagine or guess

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noun

1. 1. a disposition of property by will

   2. the property so transmitted Compare bequeath

2. a will or clause in a will disposing of real property Compare bequest

Related Words

See prepare.

Other Word Forms

• deviser noun
• predevise verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of devise

First recorded in 1150–1200; (verb) Middle English devisen “to inspect, design, compose,” from Old French deviser, from unattested Vulgar Latin dēvīsāre, for unattested dīvīsāre, frequentative of Latin dīvidere “to divide” ( divide ); (noun) device

Explanation

To devise is to figure out a plan. Men twirling long mustaches might devise a plan to tie someone to the railroad tracks. To devise a plan is more than just making one; there's a lot of figuring out to do, such as: "Phoebe devised a bus route that picked up kids in alphabetical order." There's a method to the madness of devising. The chemistry class devised a plan to make the fire alarm go off. Devise can be positive, too, meaning to find a creative solution: "The design team devised a plan to make the trailer home look like a medieval castle."

Example Sentences

Never formally trained as a historian, Churchill had to devise a method to prepare a serious autobiography while serving in Parliament.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Ali Shamkhani led Iran’s Defense Council, a body created in August 2025 after the June war to help devise military wartime strategy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

In the soundtrack of his youth, Walter Thompson-Hernández and his friends liked to devise a game of escape.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

If the offense is to generate more points, he needs to devise a new scheme.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2026

The three of them devise a game that involves kicking the ball through one doorway or the other, and we’re lucky it never lands in the slop bucket or the soup.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Related Words

• arrange
• come up with
• concoct
• construct
• craft
• create
• design
• discover
• forge
• formulate
• hatch
• invent
• mastermind
• prepare
• work out