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
LangChain began in late 2022 as an open-source project by Harrison Chase, then an engineer at Robust Intelligence, just weeks after OpenAI released ChatGPT.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025
In a review of open-source flight data, CNN identified over 200 military flights conducted in the Caribbean over the two-month period between August 15 and October 15.
—Natasha Bertrand, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
Internxt is a secure, open-source cloud storage solution that provides access to a massive 20TB of space with no monthly fees.
—PC Magazine, 18 Oct. 2025
The plan involves using DeepMind’s specialized, open-source software known as Torax to model the plasma inside the SPARC reactor, which is located at CFS headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for open-source
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Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025
In a review of open-source flight data, CNN identified over 200 military flights conducted in the Caribbean over the two-month period between August 15 and October 15.
—Natasha Bertrand, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
Internxt is a secure, open-source cloud storage solution that provides access to a massive 20TB of space with no monthly fees.
—PC Magazine, 18 Oct. 2025
The plan involves using DeepMind’s specialized, open-source software known as Torax to model the plasma inside the SPARC reactor, which is located at CFS headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2025
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 21 Oct. 2025.
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