liberty

[ lib-er-tee ]
See synonyms for liberty on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural lib·er·ties.
  1. freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.

  2. freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.

  1. freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.

  2. freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint: The prisoner soon regained his liberty.

  3. permission granted to a sailor, especially in the navy, to go ashore.

  4. freedom or right to frequent or use a place: The visitors were given the liberty of the city.

  5. unwarranted or impertinent freedom in action or speech, or a form or instance of it: to take liberties.

  6. a female figure personifying freedom from despotism.

Idioms about liberty

  1. at liberty,

    • free from captivity or restraint.

    • unemployed; out of work.

    • free to do or be as specified: You are at liberty to leave at any time during the meeting.

Origin of liberty

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English liberte, from Middle French, from Latin lībertāt-, stem of lībertās, equivalent to līber “free” + -tās -ty2

synonym study For liberty

1-4, 7. See freedom.

Other words for liberty

Words Nearby liberty

Other definitions for Liberty (2 of 2)

Liberty
[ lib-er-tee ]

noun
  1. a town in W Missouri.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use liberty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for liberty

liberty

/ (ˈlɪbətɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. the power of choosing, thinking, and acting for oneself; freedom from control or restriction

  2. the right or privilege of access to a particular place; freedom

  1. (often plural) a social action regarded as being familiar, forward, or improper

  2. (often plural) an action that is unauthorized or unwarranted in the circumstances: he took liberties with the translation

    • authorized leave granted to a sailor

    • (as modifier): liberty man; liberty boat

  3. at liberty free, unoccupied, or unrestricted

  4. take liberties to be overfamiliar or overpresumptuous (with)

  5. take the liberty to venture or presume (to do something)

Origin of liberty

1
C14: from Old French liberté, from Latin lībertās, from līber free

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with liberty

liberty

see at liberty; take the liberty of.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.