trademark

American  

[treyd-mahrk] / ˈtreɪdˌmɑrk /

noun

trademarks plural

1. any name, symbol, figure, letter, word, or mark adopted and used by a manufacturer or merchant in order to designate specific goods and to distinguish them from those manufactured or sold by others. A trademark is proprietary and is usually registered with the Patent and Trademark Office to assure its exclusive use by its owner or licensee.

2. a distinctive mark or feature particularly characteristic of or identified with a person or thing (often used attributively).

   her trademark wit and sarcasm.

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verb (used with object)

trademarks, present (3rd person singular) trademarked, past participle, past trademarking present participle

1. to stamp or otherwise place a trademark designation upon.

2. to register the trademark of.

trademark British  

/ ˈtreɪdˌmɑːk /

noun

1. the name or other symbol used to identify the goods produced by a particular manufacturer or distributed by a particular dealer and to distinguish them from products associated with competing manufacturers or dealers. A trademark that has been officially registered and is therefore legally protected is known as a Registered Trademark

2. any distinctive sign or mark of the presence of a person or animal

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verb

1. to label with a trademark

2. to register as a trademark

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• trademarks
  plural

Participles

• trademarking
  present
• trademarked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• trademark
  simple
• trademarks
  simple
• have trademarked
  perfect
• has trademarked
  perfect
• am trademarking
  progressive
• are trademarking
  progressive
• is trademarking
  progressive
• have been trademarking
  perfect progressive
• has been trademarking
  perfect progressive

Past

• trademarked
  simple
• had trademarked
  perfect
• was trademarking
  progressive
• were trademarking
  progressive
• had been trademarking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will trademark
  simple
• will have trademarked
  perfect
• will be trademarking
  progressive
• will have been trademarking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of trademark

First recorded in 1565–75; trade + mark ¹

Explanation

A trademark is a distinctive feature of something or someone, and to trademark is to brand something, especially in a legal sense. You know how a comedian often has a particular joke she's famous for? That's her trademark. A trademark is something specific to a person that can be used to identify her. The legal sense of trademark is an official representation of a business or product that only they can legally use — like the Nike swoosh or their motto "Just do it."

Example Sentences

Jennifer Aust visits her father as much as she can at Silverado, where he can be found wearing his trademark flannel and a Redondo Beach Fire Department baseball cap.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2026

“Behind the friendly, cap-wearing Beaver with the goofy smile is a hit-style trademark enforcement legal team that is slowly taking-out cartoon animals one by one,” trademark attorney Alice Denenberg wrote in an online post.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026

They burst into action with an explosion of pyrotechnics and fireworks with Hooligan, which showcased their trademark blend of honeyed harmonies and crisp rap verses.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026

Hopkins registered the trademark in 2018 and began contacting authors who had also used the descriptor — and the list was long, because the cocky, arrogant hero is a romance trope.

From Salon • Jul. 7, 2026

The talks were about the latest advances in electronics and Jobs, exercising a style that was a trademark of his personality, collared Hewlett-Packard engineers and drew additional information from them.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• brand
• label
• stamp