In‐vert″ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Inverted; p. pr. & vb. n.Inverting.] [L. invertere, inversum; pref. in- in + vertere to turn. See Verse.]
1. To turn over; to put upside down; to upset; to place in a contrary order or direction; to reverse; as, to invert a cup, the order of words, rules of justice, etc.
That doth invert the attest of eyes and ears,
As if these organs had deceptious functions. Shak.
Such reasoning falls like an inverted cone,
Wanting its proper base to stand upon. Cowper.
2. (Mus.) To change the position of; — said of tones which form a chord, or parts which compose harmony.
3. To divert; to convert to a wrong use. Knolles.
4. (Chem.) To convert; to reverse; to decompose by, or subject to, inversion. See Inversion, n., 10.