patent

noun

(law) An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.

(law) (specifically) (originally) A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods.

(law) (specifically) A declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period.

(by extension) A product in respect of which a patent (sense 1.2.2) has been obtained.

(figuratively) A licence or (formal) permission to do something.

(figuratively) A characteristic or quality that one possesses; in particular (hyperbolic) as if exclusively; a monopoly.

(gambling) The combination of seven bets on three selections, offering a return even if only one bet comes in.

(law) (US, historical) A specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.

(uncountable) Ellipsis of patent leather (“a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for accessories and shoes”). [Leather that has been given a high-gloss, shiny finish.]

verb

(transitive, law) To (successfully) register (a new invention) with a government agency to obtain the sole privilege of its manufacture, sale, and use for a specified period.

(transitive, figuratively) To be closely associated or identified with (something); to monopolize.

(transitive, law) (US, historical) To obtain (over a piece of real property) a specific grant of ownership.

adjective

Conspicuous; open; unconcealed.

(baking) Of flour: fine, and consisting mostly of the inner part of the endosperm of the grain from which it is milled.

(medicine) Open, unobstructed; specifically, especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale in the heart, having not closed as would have happened in normal development.

(medicine, veterinary medicine) Of an infection: in the phase when the organism causing it can be detected by clinical tests.

Explicit and obvious.

(botany) Of a branch, leaf, etc.: outspread; also, spreading at right angles to the axis.

(law) Protected by a legal patent.

(by extension, figuratively) To which someone has, or seems to have, a claim or an exclusive claim; also, inventive or particularly suited for.

(archaic) Especially of a document conferring some privilege or right: open to public perusal or use.

(archaic) Appointed or conferred by letters patent.

Roots

pateopat- · Latin · lie open

Synonyms for patent

trademarkn

Synonyms & related words for patent

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Words related to patent

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Synonyms for patent

Common synonyms for patent include trademark — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does patent come from?

The word patent breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root pat-, from Latin pateo (“lie open”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.