patent

CEFRB2

/ˈpeɪtənt/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An official right to make or sell an invention.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Clearly obvious or easy to see.

Examples

  • A patent right is an important property right.

  • Hans sold the patent to a company.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈpʰæ̝ʔn̩t̚]
  • [ˈpʰe̞ɪʔn̩t̚]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. 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.

  2. A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods.

  3. An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.

More examples

In context

  • The inventor applied for a patent to protect his unique design.

  • She has a patent ductus arteriosus that will require surgery to close.

  • Those claims are patent nonsense.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The inventor filed a blank to prevent others from copying his design.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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 paten...