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• liberty
  liberty

  noun

  freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
• Liberty
  Liberty

  noun

  a town in W Missouri.

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liberty

¹ American  

[lib-er-tee] / ˈlɪb ər ti /

noun

• liberties
  plural

1. 

   freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.

2. freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.

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

4. freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint.

   The prisoner soon regained his liberty.

   Synonyms:

   liberation

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

6. freedom or right to frequent or use a place.

   The visitors were given the liberty of the city.

   Synonyms:

   immunity, privilege, license, permission, franchise

7. unwarranted or impertinent freedom in action or speech, or a form or instance of it.

   to take liberties.

8. a female figure personifying freedom from despotism.

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idioms

1. at liberty,

   1. free from captivity or restraint.

   2. unemployed; out of work.

   3. free to do or be as specified.

      You are at liberty to leave at any time during the meeting.

Liberty ² American  

[lib-er-tee] / ˈlɪb ər ti /

noun

1. a town in W Missouri.

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liberty British  

/ ˈlɪbətɪ /

noun

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

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

4. (often plural) an action that is unauthorized or unwarranted in the circumstances

   he took liberties with the translation

5. 1. authorized leave granted to a sailor

   2. ( as modifier )

      liberty man

      liberty boat

6. free, unoccupied, or unrestricted

7. to be overfamiliar or overpresumptuous (with)

8. to venture or presume (to do something)

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liberty More Idioms  

1. see at liberty; take the liberty of.

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Synonym Usage

See freedom.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• liberties
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of liberty

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English liberte, from Middle French, from Latin lībertāt-, stem of lībertās, equivalent to līber “free” + -tās -ty ²

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Explanation

Liberty is a kind of freedom, whether it's freedom from tyranny, freedom from confinement, or simply the freedom of choice. The phrase "give me liberty or give me death" is attributed to Patrick Henry, whose 1775 speech persuaded the Virginia colony to raise troops to fight the British in the American Revolutionary War. For sailors and naval officers, liberty means shore leave — a brief vacation on land between voyages. We also use this noun to describe the act of getting a little too familiar or personal with someone, or doing something before we have their approval or permission.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

liberty Liberty liberties

In a presentation to the Police Commission last month, the LAPD’s technology czar, Dean Gialamas, said that the department understood the privacy and civil liberty concerns raised about companies such as Flock.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Knight from 1977, the court ruled that the denial of a press pass implicated a First Amendment liberty interest.

From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026

Despite this, Todner, said Leroy's release conditions were "so stringent, his liberty is restricted".

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

Both inherited Britain’s long struggle to reconcile liberty with authority; they developed different parts of that inheritance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

He assented joyfully, declaring that he should always be pleased to aid the cause of liberty.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

The biggest specimen belonged to a Tennessee bottlebrush crayfish preserved in the collection at West Liberty University in West Virginia.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The first signs appeared in May 2024 when Liberty, from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, began feeling unusually tired and nauseous.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

In the semifinals against the New York Liberty, Reese, a career 74% free-throw shooter, went to the line repeatedly in the last two, nail-biting games and shot 12 for 12.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Stephanie Slade’s “Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the American Right” explores the intellectual roots of fusionism and, by extension, American conservatism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

On April 6, 1775, Gage’s mole in the Sons of Liberty reported that he had seen four stolen British cannon and other weapons in Concord.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

She pointed to a desire to boost domestic production in agriculture and other sectors, alongside a wish to propagate "family values" and liberties.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

But where augmented surveillance tools might be troubling from a civil liberties perspective, they have unarguable safety benefits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

For some Americans, the attacks have become inseparable from the wars and broader official willingness to sacrifice civil liberties in the name of security that followed.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

In 2005, the California government formally apologized for these forced removals, recognizing they were “fundamental violations of … basic civil liberties and constitutional rights” during a period “of illegal deportation and coerced emigration.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Only Freddie the janitor took liberties with Macon Dead, liberties he purchased with the services he rendered, and Freddie was the last person on earth to tell him.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

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