public domain

noun

1

: land owned directly by the government

2

: the realm embracing property rights that belong to the community at large, are unprotected by copyright or patent, and are subject to appropriation by anyone

Examples of public domain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What's more, a lot of the names that are going to be on this list, according to my reporting, are already public domain. —CBS News, 2 Feb. 2025

This year, the original versions of Popeye the Sailor and Tintin are among the characters entering the U.S. public domain. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 1 Jan. 2025

The Skymaster was largely forgotten, at least in the official and public domain, creating a chasm of silence for the victims’ families. —Francine Uenuma, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025

Around the same time, DiCaprio began developing his own project around the Holmes case without the rights to Larson's book, instead drawing from public domain material with writers Aaron and Matthew Benay. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for public domain

• cyclopropane
• isobutane
• legerdemain
• nitromethane
• ultramontane
• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane

Legal Definition

public domain

noun

public do·​main

-dō-ˈmān

1

: land owned directly by the government

2

: the realm or status of property rights that belong to the community at large, are unprotected by copyright or patent, and are subject to appropriation by anyone