open-source
adjective
1
a
of software
: having the source code freely available for possible modification and redistribution
an open-source operating system
b
: of, relating to, or promoting open-source software
the open-source movement/community
Instead, they opted for the open-source model, in which computer code is openly shared, allowing programmers to modify, improve and fix the software.—
Steve Lohr
Steve Lohr2
a
: publicly available for use by the community at large
open-source images
The team uses open-source materials such as obituaries in local newspapers and cemetery visits for its count.—Brendan Hoffman
Brendan Hoffman
b
: relating to or utilizing information that is publicly available
an open-source analysis
Since the advent of the internet, social media and smartphones, open-source intelligence has undergone a revolution as people willingly and publicly post vast amounts of information online. Actors outside of the traditional intelligence community have begun to take notice.—Nick Waters
Nick WatersExamples of open-source in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Karen Pulfer Focht | Reuters SpaceX has signed a major computing power agreement with Reflection AI, making the open-source artificial intelligence startup the latest outside company to tap Elon Musk's Colossus infrastructure.
—Deirdre Bosa, CNBC, 22 June 2026
This marks a threshold where advanced closed models will require strict government approval and regulated distribution, with open-source models likely facing similar oversight eventually.
—Paul Baier, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026
Video and images of about 150 strikes against Russian fuel tankers, trucks and other vehicles have been geolocated and analyzed by French open-source analyst Clément Molin and the volunteer-run OSINT group Geoconfirmed, as well as CNN’s OSINT team.
—Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN Money, 20 June 2026
The Flow’s higher resolution is enabled by a new open-source display controller board called Enchanter.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 June 2026
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Deirdre Bosa, CNBC, 22 June 2026
This marks a threshold where advanced closed models will require strict government approval and regulated distribution, with open-source models likely facing similar oversight eventually.
—Paul Baier, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026
Video and images of about 150 strikes against Russian fuel tankers, trucks and other vehicles have been geolocated and analyzed by French open-source analyst Clément Molin and the volunteer-run OSINT group Geoconfirmed, as well as CNN’s OSINT team.
—Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN Money, 20 June 2026
The Flow’s higher resolution is enabled by a new open-source display controller board called Enchanter.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for open-source
Cite this Entry
“Open-source.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open-source. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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