innovationnoun/ˌɪn.əˈveɪ.ʃən/

• 1

  The act of innovating; the introduction of something new, in customs, rites, etc.

  • The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation. […] He said there would be "considerable danger" that without such an exception, the granting of patent would "tie up" the use of such tools and future innovation based on them.
  • Innovation is more than a new method. It is a new view of the universe, as one of risk rather than of chance or of certainty. It is a new view of man's role in the universe; he creates order by taking risks. And this means that innovation, rather than being an assertion of human power, is an acceptance of human responsibility.
• 2

  A change effected by innovating; a change in customs.

  • The others, whose time had been more actively employed, began to shew symptoms of innovation,—"the good wine did its good office." The frost of etiquette, and pride of birth, began to give way before the genial blessings of this benign constellation, and the formal appellatives with which the three dignitaries had hitherto addressed each other, were now familiarly abbreviated into Tully, Bally, and Killie.
• 3

  Something new, and contrary to established customs, manners, or rites.

  • One of the remarkable innovations in concrete technology is the development of self-healing cementitious materials through the incorporation of bacterial agents.
• 4

  A newly formed shoot, or the annually produced addition to the stems of many mosses.