nonproprietary
adjective
non·pro·pri·e·tary
ˌnän-prə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē 
: not proprietary
nonproprietary technology
The open-source movement gave us nonproprietary platforms, browsers, and frameworks such as Linux, Firefox, and Drupal.—
Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery
Monika Bauerlein and Clara JefferyExamples of nonproprietary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Since its inception, the internet has been a nonproprietary, universal language that any computer can use to speak to any other.
—
Gabriel Nicholas,
Washington Post,
24 June 2022
In 2012, Massachusetts voters passed a similar ballot measure that, for the first time, required automakers to use nonproprietary onboard diagnostics ports on every vehicle.
—
Aarian Marshall,
Wired,
3 Feb. 2022
But the chilly excesses of Melania’s Christmas decorations and the ghostly abstraction of these videos reveal just how much further outside all such nonproprietary conventions the Trumps are than previous inhabitants of the White House have been.
—
David Roth,
The New Republic,
19 Dec. 2019
At the broadest level, Internet governance involves managing the technical architecture of cyberspace, which was imbued by its original designers with an open infrastructure and nonproprietary standards.
—
Stacie L. Pettyjohn,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Apr. 2014
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Gabriel Nicholas,
Washington Post,
24 June 2022
In 2012, Massachusetts voters passed a similar ballot measure that, for the first time, required automakers to use nonproprietary onboard diagnostics ports on every vehicle.
—
Aarian Marshall,
Wired,
3 Feb. 2022
But the chilly excesses of Melania’s Christmas decorations and the ghostly abstraction of these videos reveal just how much further outside all such nonproprietary conventions the Trumps are than previous inhabitants of the White House have been.
—
David Roth,
The New Republic,
19 Dec. 2019
At the broadest level, Internet governance involves managing the technical architecture of cyberspace, which was imbued by its original designers with an open infrastructure and nonproprietary standards.
—
Stacie L. Pettyjohn,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Apr. 2014
Cite this Entry
“Nonproprietary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonproprietary. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
nonproprietary
adjective
non·pro·pri·etary
-prə-ˈprī-ə-ˌter-ē
: not proprietary
a drug's nonproprietary name
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