How to Use patent in a Sentence

patent

1 of 2 noun
  • The product is protected by patent.
  • Plant patents last for 20 years.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 May 2026
  • Shop more patent-leather styles, below.
    — Eva Thomas, InStyle, 12 Apr. 2026
  • Shop more patent-leather styles, below.
    — Eva Thomas, InStyle, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Shop more patent-leather styles, below.
    — Eva Thomas, InStyle, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Shop more patent-leather styles, below.
    — Eva Thomas, InStyle, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Ross also held a patent on the nets the league used for years.
    — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Jan. 2021
  • Inside, a screen showed that much of what was for sale were patents.
    — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026
  • This didn't work very well, didn't sell, and the patents were allowed to lapse.
    — New Atlas, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The pair received their patent within a year.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 May 2026
  • Looking for heels with a glossy patent finish?
    — Jordan Julian, InStyle, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Disney holds large numbers of patents and seeks more each year.
    — Paul Brinkmann, OrlandoSentinel.com, 8 Mar. 2018
  • Two of their patents have been approved and six more are pending.
    — Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, 18 Sep. 2019
  • To protect an idea, with patents and so on, involved spilling it.
    — The Economist, 16 Mar. 2018
  • But to them, policosanols are a ruse — the goal is to patent all panela.
    — New York Times, 26 Jan. 2021
  • Now, the first of those patents expire in 2028.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
  • The patent was filed last August and made public a few days ago.
    — David Phelan, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2021
  • The Cara heels are also crafted from black patent lamb leather.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 12 May 2026
  • That’s just one of the ideas Ford recently filed a patent for.
    — Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2023
  • For all my comprehension the course book may as well be on patent law.
    — Cheryl Jarvis, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
  • These were based in science because that is how the patent system works.
    — Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
  • Our product and our patent pending system does not need cranes.
    — Fox News, 14 Mar. 2018
  • Many of the drugs are off-patent or already offered at deep discounts.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Margiela’s patent Tabi loafers add just the right touch of interest.
    — Christina Holevas, Vogue, 10 Jan. 2024
  • Securing a patent can take up to 24 months.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 17 Dec. 2025
  • The process, protected by a patent, leaves no room for error.
    — Carol Besler, Robb Report, 12 May 2021
  • Decades-old tax and patent laws should be updated to make sure that this happens.
    — William A. Galston, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2021
  • But those arguments didn't persuade the patent judges who heard them.
    — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 30 Jan. 2020
  • The sofa is upholstered in lime-green patent vinyl.
    — Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Of course, patents don’t always point to concrete future plans.
    — David Z. Morris, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2018

patent

2 of 2 verb
  • The product was patented by its inventor.
  • Not every idea can or should be patented.
    — Paul Moutzouris, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Hybrids are patented and have been bred to grow just once.
    — Clarence Schmidt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
  • In the past, cases about patenting genes have reached the highest courts.
    — Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian, 13 June 2018
  • They’ve been urged by those in the field to get their washing machine patented.
    — Deanna Weniger, Twin Cities, 3 June 2019
  • One of the things that Theranos was good at was patenting a lot of things.
    — Recode Staff, Recode, 3 June 2018
  • The main ingredient here is a form of retinol, so unique it’s been patented.
    — Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The artist and two of his associates patented their own version.
    — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 18 Apr. 2023
  • The huge fifth wheel, designed and patented by its creator, was a thing of beauty.
    — Denise Coffey, courant.com, 28 June 2019
  • Borden was the first to patent its process for condensing milk and the first to use glass milk bottles.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 6 Jan. 2020
  • Cui applied for a grant, won it, and went on to patent his new fabric technology.
    — Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 30 Jan. 2022
  • The company won't even patent the process for fear of exposing its secrets.
    — Eric Tingwall, Car and Driver, 1 July 2020
  • Neither of the two vaccines was ever patented.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Migrants are twice as likely as the native-born to start a business and three times as likely to patent an idea.
    — The Economist, 16 Nov. 2019
  • Salk never patented the vaccine.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Courts need frameworks for when agents sign contracts, invent things that are patented, or commit crimes.
    — Toby Stuart, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
  • And to be sure, Ford regularly tries to patent a lot of really weird ideas.
    — Sean O'Kane, The Verge, 20 Nov. 2018
  • Nouhou raced along the left flank in one of his patented, break-neck rushes that typically lifts fans out of their seasts.
    — Geoff Baker, The Seattle Times, 8 Oct. 2018
  • Each of her movements are uniquely designed and patented by Mitchell herself.
    — Essence, 23 Sep. 2023
  • And even if not hybrids, many of today’s plants could not be passed along the generations because they are patented.
    — Lee Reich, The Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2017
  • There were a lot of questions involved in deciding whether or not Smuckers could patent its sandwich.
    — Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 3 Nov. 2017
  • Certainly, Tesla saw the potential for the motor and was quick to patent his.
    — Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 14 Mar. 2023
  • The startup patented a way to make protonated nicotine with any of a number of carboxylic acids.
    — Katherine Ellen Foley, Quartz, 11 Oct. 2019
  • But a nasal spray of esketamine, which is derived from ketamine and (in some studies) more potent, could be patented as a new drug.
    — NBC News, 11 June 2019
  • Paul patented the idea of mobile ride-hailing over a wireless network in 2002.
    — Carolyn Said, SFChronicle.com, 1 May 2020
  • The first slide, or pump, action firearm was patented in Great Britain by one Alexander Bain.
    — David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 7 Jan. 2020
  • With their most recent discoveries now published, the team is now working on patenting their creation.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 Oct. 2025
  • In fact, pellet grills date back to 1985, when Joe Traeger patented the design.
    — Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 25 May 2021
  • The rabbit became a Bunny, and an icon was born (and quickly patented—a first for a service uniform).
    — Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2017
  • That’s my metric, not yet patented, for Steichen’s frustration.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'patent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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