duty-free
Americanadjective
-
free of customs duty or tax on imported or exported goods.
duty-free cargo; merchandise shipped duty-free.
-
pertaining to or selling goods for import or export free of the usual customs duty.
a duty-free shop at the airport.
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of duty-free
1680–90; duty (in the sense “an import or export tax”) + -free
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The ministry's top official in charge of livestock development, Jonathan Mueke, said the immediate focus was to get more feed for farmers, including through duty-free importation of yellow maize.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Cross border duty-free commerce in goods and services on the continent was $1.9 trillion in 2025, up from $297 billion in 1993.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
And it will lower tariffs on more products, and give duty-free access to pasta, chocolate, potatoes, canned peaches, eggs and certain poultry products.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
As of December 2024, China had already implemented a duty-free policy for 33 least-developed African nations.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
Private enterprise was supposed to build an industrial duty-free port in Bolivia Mar. Thus far the free market has not accepted the challenge.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
