patent

American  

[pat-nt, payt-, payt-nt] / ˈpæt nt, ˈpeɪt-, ˈpeɪt nt /

noun

• patents
  plural

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.

5. patent leather.

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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)

• patents,
  present (3rd person singular)
• patented,
  past participle,  past
• patenting
  present participle

1. to take out a patent on; obtain the exclusive rights to (an invention, process, etc.) by a patent.

2. to originate 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 British  

/ ˈpeɪtənt, ˈpætənt /

noun

1. 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

2. an invention, privilege, etc, protected by a patent

3. 1. an official document granting a right

   2. any right granted by such a document

4. 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

5. a sign that one possesses a certain quality

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adjective

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

2. 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

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

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

Synonym Usage

See apparent.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpatentability
  noun
• patentability
  noun
• prepatent
  noun
• unpatentability
  noun
• nonpatentable
  adjective
• nonpatented
  adjective
• patentable
  adjective
• unpatent
  adjective
• unpatentable
  adjective
• unpatented
  adjective
• nonpatently
  adverb
• patentably
  adverb
• patently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• patents
  plural

Participles

• patenting
  present
• patented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• patent
  simple
• patents
  simple
• have patented
  perfect
• has patented
  perfect
• am patenting
  progressive
• are patenting
  progressive
• is patenting
  progressive
• have been patenting
  perfect progressive
• has been patenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• patented
  simple
• had patented
  perfect
• was patenting
  progressive
• were patenting
  progressive
• had been patenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will patent
  simple
• will have patented
  perfect
• will be patenting
  progressive
• will have been patenting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of patent

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”

Explanation

A patent is a government document that proves that an invention is yours and yours alone. In the U.S., as of 2009, over 7,000,000 patents were issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. Patent also refers to leather that has a very shiny finish. The process for making leather look like this was once patented, but since patents do not last forever, the process is now available for anyone to use. As with patent leather, the word is often used as part of a sales pitch, explaining why something is special: "We use patented technology..." or "Our patented method..."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

patent patents patented patenting

Blau, Bhutani and other coauthors are inventors on patent applications held by Stanford University involving 15-PGDH inhibition for cartilage and tissue rejuvenation.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

WIPO, the UN patent and innovation agency, said AI was shortening the paths of discovery and fuelling much of the world's economic growth.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Walmart told the Financial Times in March that neither patent was about dynamic pricing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

In November 2025 a judge ordered Apple to pay $634m, external to medical tech firm Masimo after a jury found it had infringed a patent for blood-oxygen reading tech.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

I nod even though I have no idea what a patent is.

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm

Taction, which makes headphones and gaming headsets, claimed in 2021 that these improvements infringed patents it was issued in 2020.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Press coverage of patents has steadily grown in the digital era, as the Patent Office’s online database helps enthusiasts and advocates monitor their areas of interest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

About four years after the iPhone launched in 2007, Apple sued Samsung, alleging the Korean company copied the look, product design, packaging and user interface of the iPhone and iPad, violating its patents and trademarks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

When a country has a relative scarcity of younger workers, that country’s technology sector rises to the occasion, resulting in “more labor-saving patents and growing high-tech activity.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Patent and Trademark Office database turns up more than seventeen thousand patents involving HeLa cells.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Stafford and Adams also had one of their patented over-the-shoulder touchdown connections in the corner of the end zone, which made it 21-3 in the third quarter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

If a patented drug is listed by the U.S. government as in short supply, compounders can legally produce it.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Behind him, a largely automated line of chemical vats is off limits to cameras because the process is patented by a Canadian company, Excir.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Also in 2023, engineering firm Hermann Ultraschall bought the rights to develop a patented ultrasonic paper sealing technology, a process which it likens to welding.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

It was the perfect opportunity for a patented Roy Lee kind of move.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

American inventor Louis E. Waterman is credited for developing and patenting the first modern fountain pen in 1884—one that could store ink inside and eliminate the need for a separate ink pot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025

In his spare time, he enjoys inventing and patenting original ideas.

From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2024

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating anti-competitive action by leading benefit managers, as well as drug company patenting tricks that slow the entry of cheaper drugs to the market.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2024

But manufacturers have long tweaked the delivery methods, patenting the changes, in ways that sometimes make the drugs more convenient to administer.

From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2024

Lawrence eventually accepted the patenting of scientific inventions as a necessary evil.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• charter
• concession
• license
• privilege
• protection