Vocabulary Related to Innovation and Invention

Vocabulary Related to Innovation and Invention

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. We will look at some useful vocabulary related to innovation and invention.

• Design
• Develop
• Innovate
• Invent
• Breakthrough
• Cutting edge
• State-of-the-art
• Obsolete
• Figure out
• The father of something

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Design

Meaning: a drawing or a plan which shows how to build or make something. A person who decides what the design will look like and how it will work is called a designer. Design can also be a verb and an adjective.

• The new design is about to replace the old models.
• Peter is a successful video game designer.
• The software is designed to be educative rather than entertaining.
• We expect a lot from our new product, which is still in its design stage.

Develop

Meaning: to change something in the way that it becomes more advanced. Related to that is a person or a company that improves an old idea, invention or product – a developer. 

• Scientists are planning to develop a new drug so that it is more efficient.
• Martin works as a developer of computer-controlled robots.

Invent

Meaning: to create something which has not existed before. Related to that is a person – an inventor and a new creation – an invention.

• Nikola Tesla invented alternating current
• Alexander Graham Bell is the inventor of the telephone.
• The invention of the washing machine enabled women to be more involved in politics.

Innovate

Meaning: to think of and introduce new ideas and methods. Related to that is a noun innovator – a person or a company that introduces changes and new ideas. 

• If you experiment and innovate, you create a constant interest from your clients.
• HP is an innovator in computer printing.

Breakthrough

Meaning: an important invention or discovery that can help deal with a problem or improve something.

• The new medicine represents a major breakthrough in curing heart-related diseases.
• The research created a breakthrough in the field of geology.

Cutting edge

Meaning: the most advanced stage in the development of something.

• Scientific work he conducted placed Greg at the cutting edge of medical research.
• The exhibition showed the cutting edge of modern gardening tools.

State-of-the-art

Meaning: the most modern of its type.

• The video game was made with state-of-the-art computer graphics.
• The car had state-of-the-art safety equipment.

Obsolete

Meaning: no longer in use or valid.

• Pagers and beepers became obsolete when mobile phones appeared.
• Can you believe how much equipment becomes obsolete as soon as it is made?

Figure out

Meaning: to solve a problem by thinking.

• Scientists have figured out how to solve the problem of smoking addiction.
• An inventor figured out how to make a printer that doesn’t need ink.

The father of something

Meaning: the man who first made something.

• They say that Shigeru Miyamoto is the father of video games.
• Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalysis.

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