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open-source
[ oh-puhn-sawrs, -sohrs ]
/ ˈoʊ pənˈsɔrs, -ˈsoʊrs /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
adjective
Computers. pertaining to or denoting software whose source code is available free of charge to the public to use, copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute.
pertaining to or denoting a product or system whose origins, formula, design, etc., are freely accessible to the public.
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Origin of open-source
First recorded in 1960–65
Words nearby open-source
open shop, open side, open-sided, open sight, open slather, open-source, open space, open-stack, open stance, open-standard, open stock
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use open-source in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for open-source
open source
noun
- intellectual property, esp computer source code, that is made freely available to the general public by its creators
- (as modifier)open source software Compare closed source
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
Scientific definitions for open-source
open-source
Relating to source code that is available to the public without charge. Open-source code is often enhanced, improved, and adapted for specific purposes by interested programmers, with the revised versions of the code are made available to the public. For example, most of the code in the Linux operating system is open-source.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.