freestyle

[ free-stahyl ]

noun

1. Swimming.
   1. a competition in which any of the standard strokes may be used, according to the swimmer's choice.
   2. the crawl.
2. Wrestling. a style of wrestling in which the contestants are permitted to trip, tackle, and use holds below the waist.
3. a sports performance or routine featuring relatively free, unrestricted movement, or intended to demonstrate an individual's special skills or style, such as in figure skating, gymnastics, surfing, or skateboarding.
4. 1. Also called freestyle rap,. a style of rap in which the topic, rhymes, and rhythm are improvised:

      Her first breakout rap album was all freestyle.

   2. a rap that is improvised throughout:

      He's known for his freestyles.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to perform a rap in which the topic, rhymes, and rhythms are improvised:

   Believe it or not, she’s freestyling all this.

freestyle

/ ˈfriːˌstaɪl /

noun

1. a competition or race, as in swimming, in which each participant may use a style of his or her choice instead of a specified style
2. 1. an amateur style of wrestling with an agreed set of rules
   2. Also calledall-in wrestling a style of professional wrestling with no internationally agreed set of rules
3. a series of acrobatics performed in skiing, etc
4. ( as modifier )

   a freestyle event

Other Words From

• free·styl·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of freestyle¹

First recorded in 1930–35; free + style

Example Sentences

Ledecky swam past growing freestyle rival Ariarne Titmus of Australia, who attempted to pull off what Ledecky had done in Rio and sweep the 200-m, 400-m and 800-m freestyle races.

From Time

They’ll have one more chance to race in Tokyo, this time in the 800-m freestyle on July 31.

From Time

That Ledecky swam in the final on the same night as her appearance in the 200-meter freestyle made the feat even more impressive.

From FiveThirtyEight

Simone Manuel, who won gold in 2016 in the 100-meter freestyle, overcame overtraining syndrome to qualify in the 50-meter free.

From FiveThirtyEight

Days after her 20th birthday, Simone Manuel made history in the pool at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics when she earned gold in the 100-meter freestyle.

From FiveThirtyEight

Five years later she would be the first woman to win a Monster Jam Finals Championship in the freestyle category.

From The Daily Beast

Freestyle co-president Mark Borde says the film specifically targets the “underserved” Christian-singles community.

From The Daily Beast

Freestyle is surely hoping for a repeat of that faith-driven success.

From The Daily Beast

IMPROVISATION Robert Iscove: Those kids made up that freestyle rap scene!

From The Daily Beast

J. Cole—“Jodeci (Freestyle)” Haim—“The Wire” Phoenix — “Trying to Be Cool” Arctic Monkeys—“Do I Wanna Know?”

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• bathe
• crawl
• dive
• float
• glide
• paddle
• submerge
• wade