patent

Meanings

• a document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention
• an official document granting a right or privilege
• 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"
• (of a bodily tube or passageway) open; affording free passage
  • "patent ductus arteriosus"
• clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
  • "patent advantages"

Synonyms

apparent, evident, letters patent, manifest, patent of invention, plain, unmistakable