free

¹ American  

[free] / fri /

adjective

freer, freest

1. enjoying personal rights or liberty, as a person who is not in slavery.

   a land of free people.

2. pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty.

   They were thankful to be living on free soil.

3. existing under, characterized by, or possessing civil and political liberties that are, as a rule, constitutionally guaranteed by representative government.

   the free nations of the world.

4. enjoying political autonomy, as a people or country not under foreign rule; independent.

5. exempt from external authority, interference, restriction, etc., as a person or one's will, thought, choice, action, etc.; independent; unrestricted.

6. able to do something at will; at liberty.

   free to choose.

7. clear of obstructions or obstacles, as a road or corridor.

   The highway is now free of fallen rock.

8. not occupied or in use; available.

   I think the main conference room is free, so we can meet there.

   I'm moving to a new apartment, and that’s taking up most of my free time.

9. exempt or released from something specified that controls, restrains, burdens, etc. (usually followed by from orof ).

   free from worry;

   free of taxes.

10. having immunity or being safe (usually followed byfrom ).

    free from danger.

11. provided without, or not subject to, a charge or payment: a free sample.

    free parking;

    a free sample.

12. given without consideration of a return or reward.

    a free offer of legal advice.

13. unimpeded, as motion or movement; easy, firm, or swift.

14. not held fast; loose; unattached.

    to get one's arm free.

15. not joined to or in contact with something else.

    The free end of the cantilever sagged.

16. acting without self-restraint or reserve.

    to be too free with one's tongue.

17. ready or generous in giving; liberal; lavish.

    to be free with one's advice.

18. given readily or in profusion; unstinted.

19. frank and open; unconstrained, unceremonious, or familiar.

20. unrestrained by decency; loose or licentious.

    free behavior.

21. not subject to special regulations, restrictions, duties, etc..

    The ship was given free passage.

22. of, relating to, or characterized by free enterprise.

    a free economy.

23. that may be used by or is open to all.

    a free market.

24. engaged in by all present; general.

    a free fight.

25. not literal, as a translation, adaptation, or the like; loose.

26. uncombined chemically.

    free oxygen.

27. traveling without power; under no force except that of gravity or inertia.

    free flight.

28. Phonetics. (of a vowel) situated in an open syllable (checked ).

29. at liberty to enter and enjoy at will (usually followed byof ).

    to be free of a friend's house.

30. not subject to rules, set forms, etc..

    The young students had an hour of free play between classes.

31. easily worked, as stone, land, etc.

32. Mathematics. (of a vector) having specified magnitude and direction but no specified initial point.

33. Nautical. Also (of a wind) nearly on the quarter, so that a sailing vessel may sail free.

34. not containing a specified substance (usually followed by of orfrom ).

    Our deli meats are free of additives.

35. (of a linguistic form) occurring as an independent construction, without necessary combination with other forms, as most words.

36. without cost, payment, or charge.

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adverb

1. in a free manner; freely.

2. Nautical. away from the wind, so that a sailing vessel need not be close-hauled.

   running free.

verb (used with object)

freed, freeing

1. to make free; set at liberty; release from bondage, imprisonment, or restraint.

2. to exempt or deliver (usually followed byfrom ).

3. to relieve or rid (usually followed byof ).

   to free oneself of responsibility.

4. to disengage; clear (usually followed by from orof ).

verb phrase

1. free up

   1. to release, as from restrictions.

      Congress voted to free up funds for the new highway system.

   2. to disentangle.

      It took an hour to free up the traffic jam.

idioms

1. with a free hand, generously; freely; openhandedly.

   He entertains visitors with a free hand.

2. for free, without charge.

   The tailor mended my jacket for free.

3. free and clear, without any encumbrance, as a lien or mortgage.

   They owned their house free and clear.

4. free and easy,

   1. unrestrained; casual; informal.

   2. excessively or inappropriately casual; presumptuous.

5. make free with,

   1. to use as one's own; help oneself to.

      If you make free with their liquor, you won't be invited again.

   2. to treat with too much familiarity; take liberties with.

6. set free, to release; liberate; free.

   The prisoners were set free.

-free ² American  

1. a combining form with the general sense “free of or from something specified,” and typically meaning “not having, containing, subject to, or affected by something unwanted, burdensome, etc.”: gluten-free; germfree.

   error-free;

   gluten-free;

   tax-free;

   germfree.

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free ¹ British  

/ friː /

adjective

1. able to act at will; not under compulsion or restraint

2. 1. having personal rights or liberty; not enslaved or confined

   2. ( as noun )

      land of the free

3. not subject (to) or restricted (by some regulation, constraint, etc); exempt

   a free market

   free from pain

4. (of a country, etc) autonomous or independent

5. exempt from external direction or restriction; not forced or induced

   free will

6. not subject to conventional constraints

   free verse

7. (of jazz) totally improvised, with no preset melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic basis

8. not exact or literal

   a free translation

9. costing nothing; provided without charge

   free entertainment

10. law

    1. not subject to payment of rent or performance of services; freehold

    2. not subject to any burden or charge, such as a mortgage or lien; unencumbered

11. (postpositive; often foll by of or with) ready or generous in using or giving; liberal; lavish

    free with advice

12. unrestrained by propriety or good manners; licentious

13. not occupied or in use; available

    a free cubicle

14. not occupied or busy; without previous engagements

    I'm not free until Wednesday

15. open or available to all; public

16. without charge to the subscriber or user

    freepost

    freephone

17. not fixed or joined; loose

    the free end of a chain

18. without obstruction or impediment

    free passage

19. chem chemically uncombined

    free nitrogen

20. phonetics denoting a vowel that can occur in an open syllable, such as the vowel in see as opposed to the vowel in cat

21. grammar denoting a morpheme that can occur as a separate word Compare bound 1

22. logic denoting an occurrence of a variable not bound by a quantifier Compare bound 1

23. (of some materials, such as certain kinds of stone) easily worked

24. nautical (of the wind) blowing from the quarter

25. (usually imperative) to regard oneself as having permission to perform a specified action

26. not_standard without charge or cost

27. casual or tolerant; easy-going

28. to take liberties with; behave too familiarly towards

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adverb

1. in a free manner; freely

2. without charge or cost

3. nautical with the wind blowing from the quarter

   a yacht sailing free

verb

1. (sometimes foll by up) to set at liberty; release

2. to remove obstructions, attachments, or impediments from; disengage

3. to relieve or rid (of obstacles, pain, etc)

noun

1. informal a freesheet

-free ² British  

combining form

1. free from

   trouble-free

   lead-free petrol

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free More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing free

• breathe easy (freely)
• feel free
• footloose and fancy-free
• for free
• get off (scot-free)
• home free
• make free with
• of one's own accord (free will)

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Usage

What does -free mean? The combining form -free is used like a suffix meaning “free of or from something specified.” It is often separated from the initial element with a hyphen, as in gluten-free.The form -free is native to English.

Related Words

See release.

Other Word Forms

• freely adverb
• freeness noun
• freer noun
• overfree adjective
• overfreely adverb
• quasi-free adjective
• quasi-freely adverb
• unfree verb (used with object)
• unfreely adverb

Etymology

Origin of free

First recorded before 900; Middle English fre, Old English frēo; cognate with Gothic freis, Old High German frī ( German frei ), Dutch vrij, Sanskrit priyá- “dear.” friend, Friday

Example Sentences

Another red flag: “free” versions of videogames you would normally pay for, or streaming-video apps offering you free access to paid content: sports, Netflix, HBO, etc.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

"You find your own freedom and use it. It's more than just a cage - your mind is free."

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

When Carmen, from London, took out a free trial of Adobe Creative Cloud, she wanted to subscribe for three months.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

As for Alphabet, Gawrelski expects the Street to revise its estimates for revenue and operating income higher following a period of sustained pressure on free cash flow estimates.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

But as soon as she got one leg free, the other was sucked into the sticky sludge, her balance already a struggle with that missing front paw.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• acquit
• clear
• discharge
• dismiss
• extricate
• pardon
• parole
• release
• relieve
• rescue
• save