public domain

American  

noun

Law.

1. the status of a literary work or an invention whose copyright or patent has expired or that never had such protection.

2. land owned by the government.

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public domain British  

noun

1. lands owned by a state or by the federal government

2. the status of a published work or invention upon which the copyright or patent has expired or which has not been patented or subject to copyright. It may thus be freely used by the public

3. able to be discussed and examined freely by the general public

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Other Word Forms

• public-domain
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of public domain

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

Jones sought to pre-empt an argument that the impending speech fell in the public domain.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026

Earlier this year, the preliminary design of Betty Boop featured in “Dizzy Dishes” entered public domain.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

But the widespread internet outages, a slowing economy and rising prices have seen discontent trickle into the public domain in recent weeks.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

They were taking a risk putting themselves into the public domain, and so opening themselves up to the social media armchair experts.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

"We're a public domain organization. There's no such thing as secret or secure information here."

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir