Humanities › History & Culture What "Embodiment" Means in Patent Applications Share Flipboard Email Print Mouse-ear / Getty Images History & Culture Inventions Patents & Trademarks Famous Inventions Famous Inventors Invention Timelines Computers & The Internet American History African American History African History Ancient History and Culture Asian History European History Genealogy Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By Mary Bellis Inventions Expert Mary Bellis covered inventions and inventors for ThoughtCo for 18 years. She is known for her independent films and documentaries, including one about Alexander Graham Bell. our editorial process Mary Bellis Updated January 23, 2018 Embodiment by definition is a manner in which an invention can be made, used, practiced or expressed. Embodiment in Patent Applications The phrase embodiment will be in your patent application, as part of the "legalese" used. In a patent application, the specification will include descriptions of the preferred embodiments. If you read a patent you will often see a section headlined DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT. You will often refer to some aspect of your invention as an embodiment in descriptions. Looking at examples of how the word is used should make what it means and how to use the word clearer. Examples The following examples are more fully described in the first link box below. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTFIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a Halloween mask with a flash device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 1 is a front pictorial perspective view of a wireless telephone constructed in accordance with an embodiment the present invention;