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
In fact, Alienware built its own nonproprietary ATX motherboard for this Alienware Area-51, and the new 2025 version of its smaller Aurora (a spec bump with new Nvidia and Intel chips) will still feature proprietary motherboards and power supplies, at least for now.
—Sean Hollister, The Verge, 7 Jan. 2025
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
Using mCODE’s common data language and open-source, nonproprietary model, organizations can access and analyze data from various EHR systems, including essential data that can be hard to find today, such as patients’ cancer stages or the outcome of specific treatments.
—Jay J. Schnitzer, STAT, 1 Feb. 2023
This has something to do with the rise of polarization—there are simply fewer swing voters to identify and convince—and something to do with the ubiquity of nonproprietary political information online, which allows ordinary voters and politicians to come up with strategies themselves.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2021
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
His office plans to continue developing the nonproprietary open source code, perhaps making it available to other agencies to use.
—Matt Stiles, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2019
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Sean Hollister, The Verge, 7 Jan. 2025
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
Using mCODE’s common data language and open-source, nonproprietary model, organizations can access and analyze data from various EHR systems, including essential data that can be hard to find today, such as patients’ cancer stages or the outcome of specific treatments.
—Jay J. Schnitzer, STAT, 1 Feb. 2023
This has something to do with the rise of polarization—there are simply fewer swing voters to identify and convince—and something to do with the ubiquity of nonproprietary political information online, which allows ordinary voters and politicians to come up with strategies themselves.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2021
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
His office plans to continue developing the nonproprietary open source code, perhaps making it available to other agencies to use.
—Matt Stiles, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Nonproprietary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonproprietary. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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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