Phrase guide

public domain

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌpʌblɪk də(ʊ)ˈmeɪn/
  • General-American: /ˌpʌblɪk doʊˈmeɪn/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪn

1

noun

Meaning 1

Often preceded by in the.

The state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: also, attributive, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Often preceded by in the.

The state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone.

The realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents, and thus over which no person can establish a proprietary interest.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: also, attributive, specifically, uncountable

Topics: law

Examples

  • As the copyright in this book has lapsed, it is now in the public domain.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Often preceded by in the.

The state of not or no longer being confidential or secret.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: also, attributive, uncountable

Examples

  • Very little information about the treaty is in the public domain.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership (for example, unowned prairie in the southwestern and western United States).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, especially, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

property rights that are held by the public at large

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: property right

History

Etymology

From public (“able to be seen or known by everyone”) + domain (“field or sphere of activity, expertise, or influence”).

Across languages

Translations

104 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: обществено достояние (obštestveno dostojanie) — state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone
  • Chinese Mandarin: 公有的 (gòngyǒude) — state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone
  • Polish: domena publiczna — state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone
  • Swahili: uwanja wa umma — state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone
  • Afrikaans: publieke domein — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Afrikaans: openbare besit — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Arabic: ملكية عامة — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Armenian: հանրության սեփականություն (hanrutʻyan sepʻakanutʻyun) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Assamese: ৰাজহুৱা ক্ষেত্ৰ (razohua khetro) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Asturian: dominiu públicu — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Azerbaijani: ictimai mülkiyyət — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Azerbaijani: ictimai varidat — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Basque: jabari publikoa — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Belarusian: грамадcкі набытак (hramadcki nabytak) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Bengali: পাবলিক ডোমেইন (pabolik ḍōmein) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Bulgarian: обществено достояние (obštestveno dostojanie) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Catalan: domini públic — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Chinese Mandarin: 公共領域 /公共领域 (gōnggòng lǐngyù) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Chinese Mandarin: 公共域 (gōnggòngyù) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Chinese Mandarin: 公有領域 /公有领域 (gōngyǒu lǐngyù) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Danish: public domain — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Danish: offentligt domæne — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Dutch: publiek domein — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Esperanto: publika havaĵo — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Esperanto: publikaĵo — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Esperanto: publikhavaĵo — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Estonian: avalik omand — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Finnish: tekijänoikeuksista vapaa sisältö — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Finnish: vapaus tekijänoikeuksista — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Finnish: tekijänoikeudettomuus — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Finnish: tekijänoikeusvapaus — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Finnish: tekijänoikeuksista vapaa — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Finnish: tekijänoikeudeton — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • French: domaine public — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Galician: dominio público — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Georgian: საყოველთაო საკუთრება (saq̇oveltao saḳutreba) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • German: Public Domain — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • German: Gemeinfreiheit — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • German: gemeinfrei — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Greek: κοινό κτήμα (koinó ktíma) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Gujarati: પબ્લિક ડોમેન (pablik ḍomen) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hebrew: רשות הציבור — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hindi: सार्वजनिक डोमेन (sārvajnik ḍomen) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hungarian: ingyenes — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hungarian: közkincs — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hungarian: közkincsbe/közkincshez tartozó — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hungarian: szabad felhasználás — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hungarian: szabad — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hungarian: szabad felhasználású — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Hungarian: szabadon felhasználható/használható/terjeszthető — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Icelandic: almenningur — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Ido: publika domeno — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Indonesian: domain publik — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Indonesian: ranah umum — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Interlingua: dominio public — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Irish: an fearann poiblí — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Italian: pubblico dominio — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Japanese: パブリックドメイン (paburikkudomein) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Korean: 퍼블릭 도메인 (peobeullik domein) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Lao: ສາທາລະນະສົມບັດ (sā thā la na som bat) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Latvian: neaizsargājams darbs — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Limburgish: public domain — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Limburgish: publiek domein — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Lithuanian: viešo naudojimo — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Luxembourgish: domaine public — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Macedonian: јавен домен (javen domen) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Macedonian: јавна сопственост (javna sopstvenost) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Malay: domain awam — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Malayalam: പൊതുസഞ്ചയം (potusañcayaṁ) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Marathi: सार्वजनिक अधिक्षेत्र (sārvajnik adhikṣetra) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Norwegian Bokmål: offentlig eiendom — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: offentleg eigedom — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Occitan: domeni public — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Persian: مالکیت عمومی — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Polish: domena publiczna — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Polish: własność publiczna — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Portuguese: domínio público — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Romanian: domeniu public — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Russian: обще́ственное достоя́ние (obščéstvennoje dostojánije) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Russian: всео́бщее достоя́ние (vseóbščeje dostojánije) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Serbo-Croatian: ја̑вно вла̑снӣштво — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Serbo-Croatian: jȃvno vlȃsnīštvo — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Slovene: javna last — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Spanish: dominio público — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Swahili: uwanja wa umma — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Swedish: allmän egendom — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Tagalog: public domain — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Tagalog: pampublikong dominyo — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Tamil: பொது உரிமைப் பரப்பு (potu urimaip parappu) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Telugu: ప్రజోపయోగ పరిధి (prajōpayōga paridhi) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Thai: สาธารณสมบัติ (sǎa-taa-rá-ná-sǒm-bàt) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Turkish: kamusal alan — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Ukrainian: суспільне надбання (suspilʹne nadbannja) — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Urdu: دائرہ عام — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Uzbek: ijtimoiy mulk — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Vietnamese: phạm vi công cộng — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Welsh: parth cyhoeddus — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Zazaki: malê şari — realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents
  • Polish: domena publiczna — state of not or no longer being confidential or secret
  • Chinese Mandarin: 公地 (gōngdì) — land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership
  • Chinese Mandarin: 公有土地 (gōngyǒu tǔdì) — land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership
  • Finnish: yhteismaa — land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership
  • Finnish: julkinen maa — land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership
  • Polish: własność publiczna — land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership