public domain

noun

1

: land owned directly by the government

2

: the realm embracing property rights that belong to the community at large, are unprotected by copyright or patent, and are subject to appropriation by anyone

Examples of public domain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Get a public domain song as a backup. —Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2026

The problem is that after a century of aggressive fire suppression on the part of the government agencies that mange America’s public domain, these landscapes are now primed for high-intensity fires against which the trees have no defense. —New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026

Copyrights never used to be a problem in figure skating because the International Skating Union barred any music involving vocals, and most classical music is considered public domain. —Dave Skretta, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026

This is now being stopped, after a user and regulator backlash, but not before unveiling a side to AI that was always there but is now shamelessly public domain. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for public domain

• cyclopropane
• isobutane
• legerdemain
• nitromethane
• ultramontane
• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane

Legal Definition

public domain

noun

public do·​main

-dō-ˈmān

1

: land owned directly by the government

2

: the realm or status of property rights that belong to the community at large, are unprotected by copyright or patent, and are subject to appropriation by anyone