What does patent mean?
Word: Patent
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Patent means an official right given by a government to an inventor, so that for some years only they can make or sell the invention.
How do you spell patent?
Syllables: pat - ent
Tricky part: There is only one t after the a, and the ending is ent, not ant. It can be said PAY-tent or PAT-ent; both are correct.
Watch out for: pattent, patant, patint
Memory tip: A patent is meant for the inventor alone. Patent and meant end in the same three letters, e-n-t.
Patent in a sentence
Example 1: The young scientist applied for a patent on her water-saving tap.
Example 2: Her grandfather keeps the patent for his rice-cleaning machine in a frame.
Example 3: Thomas Edison held more than a thousand patents.
Fun Fact
The word comes from the Latin litterae patentes, open letters, because a king's grant was left open for anyone to read.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) aparent
b) patent
c) permanant
d) ignorrant
Show answer
b) patent. Permanent ends in -ent, apparent needs a double p, and ignorant has only one r.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
pateint
a) e
b) i
c) t
d) n
Show answer
b) i. Patent is not patient: there is no i in it.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word: patent
a) receipt
b) licence
c) warranty
d) invoice
Show answer
b) licence. Both are official papers that give someone the right to do something.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
nettap
a) patent
b) parent
c) talent
d) potent
Show answer
a) patent. Parent needs an r, potent an o and talent an l; only patent uses two t's, an a, an e and an n.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Who would apply for a patent on a new machine?
a) the customer who buys it
b) the shopkeeper who sells it
c) the driver who delivers it
d) the person who invented it
Show answer
d) the person who invented it
2. When a patent runs out, other companies can ____.
a) ask the inventor for a refund
b) no longer buy the invention
c) make and sell the same invention
d) take away the inventor's prize
Show answer
c) make and sell the same invention
