Word.ws English Dictionary

patent

Syllables: pa·tent/ˈpeɪtənt/US/ˈpætənt/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

patent noun: an official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent. Also the ellipsis of patent leather.

Noun

patent (countable and uncountable, plural patents)

  1. An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
    • […] Squib proved clearly by his patent that the house and office did now belong to him.1660 February 19 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “February 10th, 1659–1660”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume...
    • Philip of Spain had offered a reward of 25,000 crowns, a patent of nobility, and immunity for all past crimes, to the assassinator of the Prince of Orange.1858, John M. Neale, A History of the So-called Jansenist Church of Holland, page 116
  2. (specifically, originally) A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods.
  3. (specifically) A declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period.
    • The patent situation, too, played a part in this, as often a firm sought to produce something which would achieve a given result, and yet not infringe a patent held by another; or a railway engineer would think of a device of his own that would free him of obligation to some manufacturer.1951, T. S. Lascelles, “British Railway Signalling Since 1925”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 226
    • The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, London: Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2019, page 55
  4. (US, historical) A specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.
  5. (broadly) A product in respect of which a patent (sense 1.2.2) has been obtained.
  6. (figuratively) A licence or (formal) permission to do something.
    • If you be ſo fond ouer her iniquity, giue her patent to offend, for if it touches not you, it comes neere no body.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act...
  7. (figuratively) A characteristic or quality that one possesses; in particular (hyperbolic) as if exclusively; a monopoly.
    • So will I growe, ſo liue, ſo die my Lord, / Ere I will yield my virgin Patent, vp / Vnto his Lordſhippe, whoſe vnwiſhed yoake / My ſoule conſents not to giue ſouerainty.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]
  8. The combination of seven bets on three selections, offering a return even if only one bet comes in.

Verb

patent (third-person singular simple present patents, present participle patenting, simple past and past participle patented)

  1. (transitive) To (successfully) register (a new invention) with a government agency to obtain the sole privilege of its manufacture, sale, and use for a specified period.
    • To his great credit, Manson refused to patent his invention, as he desired to remove any obstacle to its adoption by other companies.1946 November and December, “The Why and The Wherefore: Tablet Exchange Apparatus, L.M.S.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 392
    • The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US Rules Human Genes Can’t be Patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10
  2. (US, historical, transitive) To obtain (over a piece of real property) a specific grant of ownership.
  3. (figuratively, transitive) To be closely associated or identified with (something); to monopolize.

Adjective

patent (comparative more patent, superlative most patent)

  1. Conspicuous; open; unconcealed.
    • At the departure of Philip he had received instructions, both patent and secret, for his guidance as stadholder of Holland, Friesland, and Utrecht.1856, John Lothrop Motley, “Sowing the Wind”, in The Rise of the Dutch Republic. A History. […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, part II (Administration of the Duchess...
    Synonyms:
    overt
    1. Of flour: fine, and consisting mostly of the inner part of the endosperm of the grain from which it is milled.
    2. Open, unobstructed; specifically, especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale in the heart, having not closed as would have happened in normal development.
      • She has a patent ductus arteriosus that will require surgery to close.
    3. Of an infection: in the phase when the organism causing it can be detected by clinical tests.
  2. Explicit and obvious.
    • Those claims are patent nonsense.
    • Again we read at page 174: “Instead of the Universal Roman Catholic Church there existed after 1650 the National Catholic Churches of Spain, France, Austria, Poland, etc. more subject to the Royal supremacy than to the Papal, not, however, so completely as in England.” This is obviously an...1916 March, “The Reconciliation of Government with Liberty. By John W[illiam] Burgess, Ph.D., Ju.D., LL.D. Scribner & Sons, New York. 1915. Pp. 410. [book review]”, in The Ecclesiastical Review: A...
  3. (archaic) Especially of a document conferring some privilege or right: open to public perusal or use.
    • letters patent
  4. (archaic) Appointed or conferred by letters patent.
    • [H]e did at last think of an office which do belong to him in case the King do restore every man to his places that ever had been patent, which is to be one of the clerks of the signet, which will be a fine employment for one of his sons.1660 May 13 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “May 4th, 1660”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume I, London...
  5. Of a branch, leaf, etc.: outspread; also, spreading at right angles to the axis.
  6. Protected by a legal patent.
    • a patent right patent medicines
    • Madder is eſteemed a very rich Commodity, and what will turn to good profit; ſo that in King Charles I's Time it was made a Patent Commodity.1708, J[ohn] Mortimer, “Of Madder”, in The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and...
    Synonyms:
    patented
  7. (broadly, figuratively) To which someone has, or seems to have, a claim or an exclusive claim; also, inventive or particularly suited for.
    • ["]Ben, my fine fellow, put your hand into the cupboard, and bring out the patent digester." Mr. Benjamin Allen smiled his readiness, and produced from the closet at his elbow a black bottle half full of brandy.1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “How Mr. Winkle, when He Stepped Out of the Frying-pan, Walked Gently and Comfortably into the Fire”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club...

Also used as

patent is also the ellipsis of patent leather.

patent meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

patent in Hindi

declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period
पेटेंट peṭeṇṭ, पेटेण्ट peṭeṇṭ, अनन्याधिकार ananyādhikār, पेटेन्ट peṭenṭ, पेटनट peṭanṭ, एकस्व ekasva
specific grant of ownership of a piece of property
पेटेंट peṭẽṭ
to (successfully) register (a new invention) with a government agency to obtain the sole privilege of its manufacture, sale, and use for a specified period
पेटेंट करना peṭẽṭ karnā

patent in Tamil

காப்புரிமை

patent in Marathi

पेटंट

patent in Urdu

declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period
اِجازَۂ تَحَفُّظ ijāza-yi tahaffuz, سَنَدِ اِیجاد sanad-i ījād, سَنَدِ حَقِ اِیجاد sanad-i haq-i ījād, پَیٹَنْٹ paiṭanṭ, بَراءَت barā'at
More languagesFewer languages
patent in Bengali
কৃতিস্বত্ব kritiśśotto
patent in Telugu
పేటెంట్
patent in Malayalam
പേറ്റന്റ്, പേറ്റൻ്റ്
patent in Kannada
ಪೇಟೆಂಟ್
patent in Punjabi
ਪੇਟੈਂਟ, ਪੇਟੇੰਟ
patent in Gujarati
પેટન્ટ, પેટન્ટ કરો, પેટેન્ટ
patent in Odia
ପେଟେଣ୍ଟ, ପେଟେଣ୍ଟ୍
patent in Nepali
पेटेन्ट, पेटन्ट, पेटेंट
patent in Tagalog
karapatang-tuklas, patente
patent in Arabic
بَرَاءَةُ اِخْتِرَاع barāʔatu iḵtirāʕ
patent in Malay
paten
patent in Indonesian
paten, oktroi
patent in Persian
عیان 'ayân
patent in Thai
สิทธิบัตร sìt-tí-bàt
patent in Vietnamese
bằng độc quyền sáng chế, bằng sáng chế
patent in Myanmar
မူပိုင် mupuing, မူပိုင်ခွင့် mupuinghkwang.

Examples of patent in a sentence

  • The author's intention, however, to be just is patent and his success in this respect is noteworthy.1916 March, “The Reconciliation of Government with Liberty. By John W[illiam] Burgess, Ph.D., Ju.D., LL.D. Scribner & Sons, New York. 1915....
  • [H]e took up an old newspaper; / The paper was right easy to peruse; / He read an article the king attacking, / And a long eulogy of "Patent Blacking."1824 March 26, [Lord Byron], Don Juan. Cantos XV. and XVI., London: […] [C. H. Reynell] for John and H[enry] L[eigh] Hunt, […], →OCLC...
  • There, were also a small mouse-trap; a patent corkscrew, too good to be used in common; fragments of a silver tea-spoon, that had, by natural decay, arrived at a dissolution of its parts; […]1853, Pisistratus Caxton [pseudonym; Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter III, in “My Novel”; Or Varieties in English Life […], volume I...

All 40 example sentences with patent

Synonyms of patent

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of patent

Forms of patent

Noun
pluralpatents
Verb
third-person singular presentpatents
present participlepatenting
past participlepatented
pastpatented
Adjective
comparativemore patent
superlativemost patent

Past tense of patent: patented

Plural of patent: patents

Origin of patent

The noun is derived from Middle English patent (“document granting an office, property, right, title, etc.; document granting permission, licence; papal indulgence, pardon”) [and other forms], which is either: * a clipping of lettre patent, lettres patente, lettres patentes [and other forms]; or * directly from Anglo-Norman and Middle French patente (modern French patent), a clipping of Anglo-Norman lettres patentes, Middle French lettres patentes, lettre patente, and Old French patentes lettres (“document granting an office, privilege, right, etc., or making a decree”) (compare Late Latin patēns, littera patēns, litterae patentēs). For the derivation of Anglo-Norman and Middle French patente (adjective) in lettre patente, see etymology 2 below. The verb is derived from the noun.

From Middle English patent, patente (“wide open; clear, unobstructed; unlimited; of a document: available for public inspection”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Middle French patent (modern French patent), and directly from their etymon Latin patēns (“open; accessible, passable; evident, manifest; exposed, vulnerable”), the present active participle of pateō (“to be open; to be accessible, attainable; to be exposed, vulnerable; of frontiers or land: to extent, increase”), from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”).

Words formed from patent

Phrases with patent

4 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with patent

Questions about patent

What does patent mean?
Patent means an official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
What is patent in Hindi?
Patent in Hindi is पेटेंट (peṭeṇṭ), पेटेण्ट (peṭeṇṭ), अनन्याधिकार (ananyādhikār). See Patent meaning in Hindi.
How do you use patent in a sentence?
The author's intention, however, to be just is patent and his success in this respect is noteworthy.
What part of speech is patent?
Patent can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce patent?
Patent is pronounced /ˈpeɪtənt/ (UK).
What is the plural of patent?
The plural of patent is patents.

Words near patent in the dictionary

  1. Patenaude
  2. Patenaudes
  3. patencies
  4. patency
  5. patens
  6. patent
  7. patent ambush
  8. patent ambushes
  9. patent fuel
  10. patent fuels
  11. patent hammer

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: patent (page history and authors); patent (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); patent (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); patent (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); patent (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); patent (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); patent (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); patent (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); patent (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); patent (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “patent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/patent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.