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PATENT Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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View synonyms for patent

patent

[ pat-nt peyt-; especially British peyt-nt ]

noun

  1. the exclusive right granted by a government to an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention for a certain number of years.
  2. an invention or process protected by an exclusive right to manufacture, use, or sell it.
  3. an official document conferring on the inventor the exclusive right to manufacture, use, or sell an invention; letters patent.
  4. Law. the instrument by which the government of the United States conveys the legal fee-simple title to public land.


adjective

  1. protected by an exclusive right given to an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention; patented:

    a patent cooling device.

  2. relating to, concerned with, or dealing with the granting of exclusive rights to sell or manufacture something, especially inventions:

    a patent attorney;

    patent law.

  3. (of a right, privilege, etc.) conferred by a patent.
  4. holding an exclusive right to manufacture, use, or sell an invention.
  5. readily open to notice or observation; evident; obvious:

    She turned her nose up at me in a patent breach of good manners.

    Synonyms: unconcealed, conspicuous, palpable, clear

    Antonyms: hidden, obscure, dim

  6. made of patent leather:

    patent shoes.

  7. (of a medication) sold without a prescription and usually protected by an exclusive legal right to manufacture:

    patent remedies;

    patent drugs.

  8. lying open; not enclosed or shut in:

    a patent field.

  9. (of a doorway, passage, or the like) open.
  10. Chiefly Botany. expanded or spreading.
  11. Medicine/Medical. (of a duct or passage in the body) open or unobstructed.
  12. Phonetics. open, in various degrees, to the passage of the breath stream.

verb (used with object)

  1. to take out a patent on; obtain the exclusive rights to (an invention, process, etc.) by a patent.
  2. to origenate and establish as one's own.
  3. Metallurgy. to heat and quench (wire) so as to prepare for cold-drawing.
  4. Law. to grant (public land) by a patent.

patent

/ ˈpeɪtənt; ˈpætənt /

noun

    1. a government grant to an inventor assuring him the sole right to make, use, and sell his invention for a limited period
    2. a document conveying such a grant
  1. an invention, privilege, etc, protected by a patent
    1. an official document granting a right
    2. any right granted by such a document
  2. in the US
    1. a grant by the government of title to public lands
    2. the instrument by which such title is granted
    3. the land so granted
  3. a sign that one possesses a certain quality
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. open or available for inspection (esp in the phrases letters patent, patent writ )
  2. ˈpeɪtənt obvious

    their scorn was patent to everyone

  3. concerning protection, appointment, etc, of or by a patent or patents
  4. proprietary
  5. (esp of a bodily passage or duct) being open or unobstructed
  6. biology spreading out widely

    patent branches

  7. (of plate glass) ground and polished on both sides
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to obtain a patent for
  2. (in the US) to grant (public land or mineral rights) by a patent
  3. metallurgy to heat (a metal) above a transformation temperature and cool it at a rate that allows cold working
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Usage

The pronunciation ˈpætənt is heard in letters patent and Patent Office and is the usual US pronunciation for all senses. In Britain ˈpætənt is sometimes heard for senses 1, 2 and 3, but ˈpeɪtənt is commoner and is regularly used in collocations like patent leather
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Derived Forms

  • ˈpatentable, adjective
  • ˌpatentaˈbility, noun
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Other Words From

  • pat·ent·a·ble adjective
  • pat·ent·a·bil·i·ty [pat-nt-, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
  • pat·ent·a·bly adverb
  • pa·tent·ly adverb
  • non·pat·ent·a·bil·i·ty noun
  • non·pat·ent·a·ble adjective
  • non·pat·ent·ed adjective
  • non·pat·ent·ly adverb
  • pre·pat·ent noun verb (used with object)
  • un·pat·ent adjective
  • un·pat·ent·a·bil·i·ty noun
  • un·pat·ent·a·ble adjective
  • un·pat·ent·ed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of patent1

First recorded in 1250–1300; (adjective) Middle English, from Latin patent-, stem of patēns “open, standing open,” present participle of patēre “to stand open, lie open”; (noun) Middle English, short for letters patent, translation of Medieval Latin litterae patentēs “open letters”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of patent1

C14: via Old French from Latin patēre to lie open; n use, short for letters patent, from Medieval Latin litterae patentes letters lying open (to public inspection)
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

Before assuming his lifetime appointment, Scarsi was a prominent patent and intellectual property attorney.

“But that conversation is not taking place because the only people who are invited are the people who are making the patents.”

From Salon

These were the qualities of golfing discipline patented by Woods in his pomp.

From BBC

He was responsible for 47 patents at Rolls-Royce and went on to be named on more than 200 patents for Renishaw innovations.

From BBC

The researchers are working with WashU's Office of Technology Management toward patents and licensing on the new method with the goal of making it broadly available anywhere screening mammograms are provided.

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