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

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

The section in the middle of ‘Great Expectations,’ another song on the same album, was public domain, but the middle of ‘Beth’ is my composition. —Gary Graff, Billboard, 14 Jan. 2026

Movies that are now public domain include Oscar Best Picture winners All Quiet on the Western Front and Cimarron, King of Jazz (which was Bing Crosby’s first movie), Free and Easy (which has Buster Keaton’s first movie role) and Anna Christie (Great Garbo’s first talkie). —Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 2 Jan. 2026

And public domain isn't just good news for those who want to create art, but also for those who simply want to consume it. —Rachel Treisman, NPR, 26 Dec. 2025

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