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Definitions

patent

[pat-nt, peyt-, peyt-nt] / ˈpæt nt, ˈpeɪt-, ˈpeɪt nt /


NOUN
copyright on an invention
Synonyms
Antonyms
STRONGEST


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Of the roughly $700 billion in annual revenue generated by the world’s 14 largest drug companies, nearly half of it will face patent expiration by 2031, according to investment-bank Needham.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

But long before that, in 1871, inventor Antonio Meucci received a “caveat,” a precursor to a patent, for his version of a telephone, which he called a speaking telegraph.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

And later, in 1853, the U.S. patent office denied Hunt’s belated application for his 1830s sewing-machine invention.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

She patented it in 1951, and that year sold the rights to her patent for $1 million to Keko Corp. of Kankakee, Ill.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Who really deserved the patent for a discovery that might be based on the work of innumerable scientists over years or decades?

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik




Vocabulary lists containing patent