patent cliff
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of patent cliff
First recorded in 2005–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Over the last several years, we’ve done quite a bit of business development activity, putting products into our business that will help us offset the patent cliff over time.”
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
As Citi’s Davis puts it, “This will be the biggest patent cliff of all time.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 18, 2025
But no company has a patent cliff quite like Merck’s.
From Barron's • Nov. 14, 2025
It was originally thought that the biosimilars would exact a lot of pain like the patent cliff with other drugs.
From Forbes • Sep. 4, 2014
The company's "patent cliff" will become more daunting in March, when $1 billion-a-year osteoporosis drug Evista faces U.S. generics.
From Reuters • Jan. 30, 2014
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
