Dictionary definition · patent
noun
- a document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention
- an official document granting a right or privilege
verb
- obtain a patent for"Should I patent this invention?"
- grant rights to; grant a patent for
- make open to sight or notice"His behavior has patented an embarrassing fact about him"
adjective
- (of a bodily tube or passageway) open; affording free passage"patent ductus arteriosus"
- clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment"the effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields"
Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).