freelance

American  

[free-lans, -lans] / ˈfriˌlæns, -ˈlæns /

Or free-lance

adjective

1. of or relating to work conducted by a person who sells their services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer.

   a freelance writer;

   freelance copyediting.

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verb (used without object)

freelances, present (3rd person singular) freelanced, past participle, past freelancing present participle

1. to sell services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer.

   The illustrator used to be employed by us but is freelancing now.

verb (used with object)

freelances, present (3rd person singular) freelanced, past participle, past freelancing present participle

1. to produce, sell, or accomplish (something) while selling services by the hour, day, job, etc..

   Every so often I freelance a magazine article for some extra cash.

adverb

1. in the manner of one who sells services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer.

   She works freelance.

noun

freelances plural

1. freelancer.

2. a person who contends in a cause or in a succession of various causes, as they choose, without personal attachment or allegiance.

freelance British  

/ ˈfriːˌlɑːns /

noun

1. 1. Also called: freelancer.  a self-employed person, esp a writer or artist, who is not employed continuously but hired to do specific assignments

   2. ( as modifier )

      a freelance journalist

2. a person, esp a politician, who supports several causes or parties without total commitment to any one

3. (in medieval Europe) a mercenary soldier or adventurer

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verb

1. to work as a freelance on (an assignment, etc)

adverb

1. as a freelance

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• freelances
  plural

Participles

• freelancing
  present
• freelanced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• freelance
  simple
• freelances
  simple
• have freelanced
  perfect
• has freelanced
  perfect
• am freelancing
  progressive
• are freelancing
  progressive
• is freelancing
  progressive
• have been freelancing
  perfect progressive
• has been freelancing
  perfect progressive

Past

• freelanced
  simple
• had freelanced
  perfect
• was freelancing
  progressive
• were freelancing
  progressive
• had been freelancing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will freelance
  simple
• will have freelanced
  perfect
• will be freelancing
  progressive
• will have been freelancing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of freelance

First recorded in 1810–20; free + lance ¹

Explanation

To freelance is to work independently, instead of for a long-term employer. If you do freelance work, you’re free to say yes or no to any project. Anyone can work freelance (as a freelancer), but it’s often a writer or artist. To freelance is the opposite of working for one employer full-time and long-term. A freelancer — who could be a writer, a designer, or one of many other jobs — probably has many employers. The word comes from the Middle Ages, for "medieval mercenary warrior," which makes sense, since a mercenary is someone who fights for hire. It’s a free (not bound by a country) lance (sword). The pen is mightier than the sword, so these days freelance often refers to writers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

freelance freelances freelanced freelancing

“We’re young people in New York, I think we’re all just kind of in this rough economy,” said Lee, a freelance graphic designer who rents an apartment in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Annesha Ghosh is a freelance sports journalist, broadcaster and documentary producer.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Internships, part-time jobs, research positions, freelance gigs or volunteer work can all demonstrate you have the skills employers are looking for.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

It was claimed a freelance journalist was asked to "blag" travel details for Ms Bonas.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

“I’m a freelance writer,” I said to her.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

“The Accountant 2” subtracts everything that worked about the 2016 original, a marvelous romp that starred Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff, a neurodivergent numbers geek who freelances as an auditor and assassin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025

Now Ms. Woodland freelances for museums part time, and she’s able to do hands-on work with their collections, something she finds very fulfilling.

From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2022

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” says Kim, who freelances full time as a copywriter.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2021

In addition to the garden project, Montoya also wrote a children’s book, which Ballachino submitted to the publisher she freelances with.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 24, 2019

I suppose the little glazed office was the sentry-box in the old days, where mendicants got their doles and tall freelances from Germany applied for a situation.

From Aliens by McFee, William

Prior to that, she led writing groups in juvenile halls across the Bay Area and freelanced in Cairo during the Egyptian revolution and Arab Spring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

She has freelanced for Barron’s and other publications.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2025

The 50-year-old Chicano illustrator with more than a decade of experience as an independent artist had occasionally freelanced for IDW Publishing and Image Comics, but this was his biggest opportunity to date.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024

Ms. Taylor retired in 1989 but freelanced for several more years as a political reporter and moderator of the station’s “Meet the Press”-like program, “Newsmakers.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

I worked for newspapers and freelanced for magazines.

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

His scammers are hustlers and apprentices with lots of free time on their hands, freelancing in an informal economy of deception held together by cellphones and copied scripts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

I created a profile on the freelancing website Upwork.

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

When I was freelancing, though, the stress of making ends meet meant I was saying “yes” to a lot of projects and working well over 60 hours a week.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

Eventually, she quit the NGO and began freelancing for Reuters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026

So the only advantage of working here as opposed to freelancing is that you don’t need a clientele or even a car.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

• self-employed