invitational

[ in-vi-tey-shuh-nl ]

adjective

1. restricted to participants who have been invited:

   an invitational track meet.

noun

1. an event, as a sports competition or an art exhibit, restricted to those who have been invited to participate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of invitational¹

First recorded in 1920–25; invitation + -al ¹

Example Sentences

He has picked up £355,000 for winning the Premier League of Darts and World Series finals but, as those are invitational events, they do not count towards the rankings.

From BBC

The 1988 invitational tournament was a turning point for women's football.

From BBC

Rather, she’d stomped off the Bears’ practice pool deck after a shouting match with Stovall, days after they had returned together from a national invitational meet in Orlando.

From Salon

Ridley noted that because the Masters is an invitational event, the tournament has the leeway to invite players who might not otherwise qualify, as is the case with some up-and-coming international golfers.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, he leaned on the Masters being an invitational, and the club alone decides who it deems worthy of getting that elegant, cream-colored invitation in the mail.

From Seattle Times