First recorded in 1945–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The soldiers who once called each other Redcoats and Yankees became the Tommies and the GIs who together saved the free world," he said.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
We’re just putting him in charge of the free world.
From Slate • Nov. 4, 2025
The Nobel committee, and the rest of the free world, will be tuned in.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025
Living in exile since fleeing Chinese rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama has previously said his reincarnation will take place in the "free world", meaning outside of China.
From BBC • Jul. 6, 2025
Like the leader of the free world could relax when he was being held down on a snowbank.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
