There's something inventive about devise, a word that stems from Latin dividere, meaning "to divide."

DEVISED definition: 1. past simple and past participle of devise 2. to invent a plan, system, object, etc., usually…. Learn more.

DEVISED meaning: 1. past simple and past participle of devise 2. to invent a plan, system, object, etc., usually…. Learn more.

DEVISE definition: 1. to invent a plan, system, object, etc., usually using your intelligence or imagination: 2. to…. Learn more.

1. to contrive, plan, or elaborate; invent from existing principles or ideas: to devise a method. 2. to transmit (property) by will. 3. Archaic. to imagine; suppose. 4. to form a plan; contrive.

adjective contrived, planned, invented, or designed: It’s a dark comedy about a couple of guys who embark on a poorly devised scheme to blackmail a local clergyman. Theater. (of a play) …

If you devise something, you have the idea for it and design it. We devised a plan.

Simple past tense and past participle of devise. It was Molly, not me, who devised a possible solution. He has devised a complete explanation. Yet at the time that we devised each plan, …

They have devised a new method for converting sunlight into electricity. She is accused of devising [= hatching] a plot to overthrow the government.

If you devise a plan, system, or machine, you have the idea for it and design it. We devised a scheme to help him. Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © …