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open source

adj, verb, noun — 7 senses

open-source

adjalso spelled open-source

UK /ˈəʊpən ˌsɔːs/ · US /ˈoʊpən ˌsɔɹs/

Etymology See open source.

1

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences, Software Of or relating to software where the source code is freely available and licensed in a manner that permits modification and redistribution.

  • Linux is an open-source operating system.
  • ASP.NET MVC has been under an open-source license since the initial release, but it was just open-source code instead of a full open-source project.2014, Jon Galloway, Brad Wilson, K. Scott Allen, David Matson, Professional ASP.NET MVC 5, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 10:
1 more example
  • OpenSNP constituted a rare example of how open-source projects can successfully operate on a low budget, having repeatedly rejected offers from corporations to sell control of the data.2025 April 2, Bill Toulas, “Genetic data site openSNP to close and delete data over privacy concerns”, in BleepingComputer:
2

Broadly Describing any product whose composition or method of manufacturing is public knowledge and not proprietary.

  • open-source cola
  • open-source hardware
3

Espionage, Government, Military, Politics, War Relying on publicly available information (open sources).

  • open-source intelligence
  • The ramifications of disinformation spill on to the streets with tangible, often devastating real-world consequences. These processes were already under way in 2014, when I founded the open-source investigative group Bellingcat.2023 December 16, Eliot Higgins, “Moment of truth”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1:
Antonyms
closed-source
Derived terms
open-sourceness
Related terms
free software, source-available

open-source

verb

Etymology See open source.

1

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To release the source code of, so as to permit modification and redistribution.

  • 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.2005, David Brickner, Test Driving Linux: From Windows to Linux in 60 Seconds:

open source

noun

Etymology Compound of open + source, coined by Christine Peterson in 1998 for software as an umbrella term to encompass existing concepts such as free software, freedomware, and sourceware.

1

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences, Software The practice of providing open-source code for a product.

  • OpenSNP, a fourteen-year-old open source repository for genetic records, will shut down and delete all its data at the end of April.2025 April 1, Thomas Claburn, “Genetic data repo OpenSNP to self-destruct before authoritarians weaponize it”, in The Register:
2

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences, Software Open-source software in general.

  • His contributions to open source are numerous.
3

Espionage, Government, Military, Politics, War Information that is in the public domain and available to everybody.

Derived terms
open sourceror
Related terms
open-source, open weights, OSINT, open core

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for open-source and open source.