invade
Americanverb (used with object)
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invades,
present (3rd person singular)
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invaded,
past participle, past
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invading
present participle
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to enter forcefully as an enemy; go into with hostile intent.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
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to enter like an enemy.
Locusts invaded the fields.
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to enter as if to take possession.
to invade a neighbor's home.
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to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease.
viruses that invade the bloodstream.
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to intrude upon.
to invade the privacy of a family.
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to encroach or infringe upon.
to invade the rights of citizens.
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to permeate.
The smell of baking invades the house.
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to penetrate; spread into or over.
The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs.
verb (used without object)
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invades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
invaded,
past participle, past
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invading
present participle
verb
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to enter (a country, territory, etc) by military force
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(tr) to occupy in large numbers; overrun; infest
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(tr) to trespass or encroach upon (privacy, etc)
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(tr) to enter and spread throughout, esp harmfully; pervade
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(of plants, esp weeds) to become established in (a place to which they are not native)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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invadernoun
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reinvadeverb (used with object)
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invadableadjective
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quasi-invadedadjective
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uninvadableadjective
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uninvadedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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invadesimple
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invadessimple
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have invadedperfect
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has invadedperfect
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am invadingprogressive
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are invadingprogressive
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is invadingprogressive
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have been invadingperfect progressive
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has been invadingperfect progressive
Past
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invadedsimple
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had invadedperfect
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was invadingprogressive
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were invadingprogressive
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had been invadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of invade
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin invādere, from in- in- 2 + vādere “to go, walk” ( see also wade)
Explanation
When you Invade, you aggressively take over or occupy a place. If a country's leader wants to gain more land, the military might invade a neighboring country. Not everything that invades is militaristic. Some things that invade are cultural, such as the phenomena of young, stylish people moving into a neighborhood that had never been thought of as cool before. In an instant, new restaurants and shops catering to the newcomers open and soon the area is overrun with people wearing, say, skinny jeans and complicated eyewear. Natives to the area lament, "This place has been invaded by hipsters."
Vocabulary lists containing invade
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Bronx Masquerade
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If China does invade, Lin says he would “fight tooth and nail” to defend the island.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Jenner hates the paparazzi for invading her privacy but sees no moral quandary in collecting a check from Mark Zuckerberg, who wants to invade everyone’s privacy.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
"But this is the first time someone managed to invade our lives like this - and drag our children into it."
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Their work helps answer longstanding questions about how these viruses launch replication once they invade a cell.
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026
Institutions—government, religion, school administrations, the music industry, Microsoft—were roadblocks, put on earth to obstruct and torment him, invade his privacy and limit his freedom of movement on the Internet.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Jurgen Klopp started his reign as Germany's head coach by threatening to quit if the media invades his family's privacy.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Researchers led by Tajie Harris, PhD, set out to understand how the immune system responds when Toxoplasma invades CD8+ T cells, which are specialized immune cells responsible for killing infected cells.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026
The afterglow of aristocratic grace, the poet noted, was obscured by the “rising tide of democracy, which invades and levels all things.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
The current odds External link that the U.S. invades Greenland in 2026, acquires Greenland in 2026, or acquires Greenland in 2027 are 10%, 23%, and 18%, respectively.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
Phnom Penh city wakes early to take advantage of the cool morning breeze before the sun breaks through the haze and invades the country with sweltering heat.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
When Russia invaded, 55-year-old Trotsenko -- who was born in Soviet Kazakhstan -- switched from making car charging stations to military robots.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
In court, the state and cities argued that Operation Metro Surge had invaded state and municipal authority.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
One thing is certain: The real-world headaches and benefits of mobile technology have invaded the happiest place on Earth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Argentina, ruled at the time by a military junta led by General Leopoldo Galtieri, invaded the islands, situated 300 miles off Argentina's east coast, in 1982.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
“I know we invaded your privacy, and I’m sorry. I’m not handling this hunt thing very well.”
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
Although Perez’s livestream proceeded for around 15 minutes before it was shut down, screenshots and clips rocketed across the internet, invading countless social media feeds.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Jenner hates the paparazzi for invading her privacy but sees no moral quandary in collecting a check from Mark Zuckerberg, who wants to invade everyone’s privacy.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
The authors, both entomologists, detail violent territorial battles between colonies and against invading predators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
When arginine is scarce, cells struggle to produce MHC-1, a protein that helps alert the immune system to threats such as mutated cells and invading viruses.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Then, if I had to, I would move on to keep away from the invading army.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
