patent
pa·tent/ˈpætənt/noun, verb, adjective
patent is spelled P-A-T-E-N-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (pa·tent). It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, patent means “An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of patent is patents.
How many letters and syllables are in patent?
| Letters | 6: P-A-T-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pa·tent |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,309th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is patent?
Patent appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce patent?
- UK /ˈpeɪtənt/
- UK /ˈpætənt/
- US /ˈpætənt/
Patent has 2 syllables, split pa·tent in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-patent.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Simplificationalizer-patent.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with patent?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as patent from its last stressed vowel (/ætənt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: patten.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of patent
- patents plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- patenting participle, present
- patented participle, past
- more patent comparative
- most patent superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does patent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
- 2
A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods.
- 3
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.
- 4
USA specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.
- 5
A product in respect of which a patent (sense 1.2.2) has been obtained.
- 6
Ellipsis of patent leather (“a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for accessories and shoes”).
- 7
A licence or (formal) permission to do something.
- 8
A characteristic or quality that one possesses; in particular (hyperbolic) as if exclusively; a monopoly.
verb
- 1
To (successfully) register (a new invention) with a government agency to obtain the sole privilege of its manufacture, sale, and use for a specified period.
- 2
USTo obtain (over a piece of real property) a specific grant of ownership.
- 3
To be closely associated or identified with (something); to monopolize.
adjective
- 1
Conspicuous; open; unconcealed.
- 2
Of flour: fine, and consisting mostly of the inner part of the endosperm of the grain from which it is milled.
- 3
Open, unobstructed; specifically, especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale in the heart, having not closed as would have happened in normal development.
She has a patent ductus arteriosus that will require surgery to close.
- 4
Of an infection: in the phase when the organism causing it can be detected by clinical tests.
- 5
Explicit and obvious.
Those claims are patent nonsense.
- 6
archaicEspecially of a document conferring some privilege or right: open to public perusal or use.
letters patent
- 7
archaicAppointed or conferred by letters patent.
- 8
Of a branch, leaf, etc.: outspread; also, spreading at right angles to the axis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate patent?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of patent: pat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Patent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brevet , breveter, faire breveter |
| German | Patent , patentieren, patentieren lassen |
| Portuguese | patente , patentear |
| Spanish | patente , patentar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.