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

See Examples For:

trademark trademarks trademarked trademarking

We wrote here last month about the trademark lawsuits being filed by the rest-stop chain Buc-ee’s as it expands in the U.S., alleging that other companies’ mascots infringe on its trademarked beaver character.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Putting the bat on the ball is also a Wilson trademark.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

An Irish fast food chain locked in a long running dispute with McDonald's has been told it cannot register its name as a trademark in the European Union.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

But this presentation, spanning a quarter-century and featuring more than 100 objects, shows that a popular visual trademark does not a great artist make.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“Love you, Junebug,” he says, his trademark good-bye.

From "Legend" by Marie Lu

One ally describes this as one of Burnham's trademarks, telling me he was a "brilliant leader of teams, and that included Conservative and Lib Dem council leaders".

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

De Palma may be best known for his stylistic trademarks and penchant for perversion, but he’s also one of American cinema’s great realists.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Its trademarks, brands and recipes can move or get licensed across borders within the corporation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

FIFA's trademarks, names and symbols are protected by penalties for the unauthorized sale of World Cup merchandise.

From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026

“I have always loved our elm trees which seemed like trademarks on our landscape,” wrote another Wisconsin woman.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

It’s exactly the kind of expanding, heart-filling rock ‘n’ roll ballad that Springsteen has practically trademarked at this point.

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

The nonprofit recently trademarked its name and is in the process of copyrighting its livestream.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2026

Her legal team argued that the way Cathay Home has styled the word "Swift" in its branding closely resembled the singer's trademarked cursive signature.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

Swig trademarked the term ‘dirty soda’ in 2015, but it lapsed in 2020.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

And, to continue the analogy, you cannot establish a name in a day or two, any more than the manufacturer can make his trademarked goods universally known in a short period.

From The Art of Stage Dancing The Story of a Beautiful and Profitable Profession by Ned Wayburn

EU regulations do not allow trademarking a brand that simply describes a product or service, as that would mean competitors could no longer use those terms in their advertising.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

But Hopkins didn’t have the name recognition to justify trademarking “Cocky.”

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

Matthew McConaughey is trademarking himself to fight AI fakes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026

“Somebody probably already beat me to that,” Sanders said of trademarking “hot garbage.”

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2023

The name was chosen because of difficulties Intel had in trademarking a number.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Guy L. Steele

Related Words

• brand
• label
• stamp