Etymology : Middle French or Latin; Middle French inviter, from Latin invitare
Pronunciation : in-vIt
Function : transitive verb
Date : 1533
1. request the presence of; solicit, politely request; attract; encourage, provoke, promote. invite\in*vite"\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. invited; p. pr. & vb. n. inviting.] [l. invitare: cf. f. inviter. see:
vie.].
2. to ask; to request; to bid; to summon; to ask to do some act, or go to some place; esp., to ask to an entertainment or visit; to request the company of; as, to invite to dinner, or a wedding, or an excursion. so many guests invite as here are writ. i invite his grace of castle rackrent to reflect on this. arlyle.
3. to allure; to draw to; to tempt to come; to induce by pleasure or hope; to attract. to inveigle and invite the unwary sense. shady groves, that easy sleep invite. there no delusive hope invites despair.
4. to give occasion for; as, to invite criticism.
5. To ask; to request; to bid; to summon; to ask to do some act, or go to some place; esp., to ask to an entertainment or visit; to request the company of; as, to invite to dinner, or a wedding, or an excursion.
6. To allure; to draw to; to tempt to come; to induce by pleasure or hope; to attract.
7. To give occasion for; as, to invite criticism.
8. To give invitation. a colloquial expression for invitation; "he didn't get no invite to the party" ask someone in a friendly way to do something request the participation or presence of; "The organizers invite submissions of papers for the conference" ask to enter; "We invited the neighbors in for a cup of coffee" increase the likelihood of; "ask for trouble"; "invite criticism" invite someone to one's house; "Can I invite you for dinner on Sunday night?" have as a guest; "I invited them to a restaurant".
9. 1. If you invite someone to something such as a party or a meal, you ask them to come to it. She invited him to her 26th birthday party in New Jersey Barron invited her to accompany him to the races I haven't been invited. an invited audience of children from inner-city schools.
10. If you are invited to do something, you are formally asked or given permission to do it. At a future date, managers will be invited to apply for a management buy-out If a new leader emerged, it would then be for the Queen to invite him to form a government The Department is inviting applications from groups within the Borough.
11. If something you say or do invites trouble or criticism, it makes trouble or criticism more likely. Their refusal to compromise will inevitably invite more criticism from the UN.
12. An invite is an invitation to something such as a party or a meal. They haven't got an invite to the wedding. an invitation to a party, meal etc.