noun
patent
PAY-tuhnt
noun
1
An official government grant giving an inventor sole rights to make, use, or sell an invention for a set period.
"She filed a patent for her new design."
verb
1
To obtain a patent for an invention.
"The company patented the technology before releasing it to market."
adj
1
Obvious or clear to see; completely evident.
"It was patent from his expression that he disagreed."
How to Use Patent
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither the legal right to an invention, or (as an adjective) something completely obvious.
Common mistake
Don't confuse the legal-right sense with the "obvious" adjective sense — they share a root but are used very differently.
Common pairings
file a patent
patent pending
patently obvious
Word Forms
more patent comparative, patented past tense, patents singular, most patent superlative
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She filed a _____ for her new design.
Etymology
From Middle English "letters patent," open documents granting a right or privilege, ultimately from Latin patens, "lying open."