open-source

adjective

ˈō-pən-ˈsȯrs 

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

2

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

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

Examples of open-source in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those databases – GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA – are open-source services where people are informed that the information could be used by law enforcement. —Andy Rose, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026

But open-source models may be narrowing the performance gap with closed-source models. —Jared Cohen, Time, 18 Feb. 2026

Berlin is planning to exclude Chinese suppliers from its 6G network and is testing an open-source alternative to Microsoft. —Joseph De Weck, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026

This time, OpenAI dominated the cycle after CEO Sam Altman revealed that the company had hired Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind OpenClaw—open-source software to build autonomous AI agents that had gone wildly viral over the past three months. —Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for open-source

• counterforce
• intercourse
• nonrecourse
• reinforce
• watercourse
• bourse
• coarse
• course
• force
• gorse
• hoarse
• horse