Open-source

//ˈoʊpən ˌsɔɹs// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To release the source code of, so as to permit modification and redistribution. transitive

    "The big Unix company Sun Microsystems bought the code for StarOffice in 1999, and some time afterward they open-sourced as much of it as they could."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or relating to software where the source code is freely available and licensed in a manner that permits modification and redistribution. not-comparable

    "Linux is an open-source operating system."

  2. 2
    Describing any product whose composition or method of manufacturing is public knowledge and not proprietary. broadly, not-comparable

    "open-source cola"

  3. 3
    Relying on publicly available information (open sources). not-comparable

    "open-source intelligence"

Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to or being computer software for which the source code is freely available wordnet

Example

More examples

"If machines are to be used to record and count votes, these must use open-source programming code and produce a hard-copy printout which each voter can verify as accurate when casting a ballot, and which will be used in the event of a later manual recount."

Etymology

See open source.

Related phrases

open-sourceness

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.