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patent

Pronunciation: /ˈpat(ə)nt, ˈpeɪt(ə)nt/
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Definition of patent

noun

  • a government authority or licence conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention:he took out a patent for an improved steam hammer

adjective

  • 1 /ˈpeɪt(ə)nt/ easily recognizable; obvious:she was smiling with patent insincerity
  • 2 Medicine (of a vessel, duct, or aperture) open and unobstructed; failing to close: the patient is usually left with a patent vessel
  • (of a parasitic infection) showing detectable parasites in the tissues or faeces: there are a few recorded cases of patent infection in man
  • 3made and marketed under a patent; proprietary:patent milk powder

verb

[with object]
  • obtain a patent for (an invention):an invention is not your own until it is patented

Derivatives

patentability

noun

patentable

adjective

patentor

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin patent- 'lying open', from the verb patere. The noun sense is from letters patent

patent in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of patent in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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