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Synonyms

freelancer

American  
[free-lan-ser] / ˈfriˌlæn sər /
Also free lancer,

noun

  • freelancers
    plural
  1. a person who works as a writer, designer, performer, or the like, selling work or services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of freelancer

First recorded in 1920–25; freelance ( def. ) + -er 1 ( def. )


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.

See Examples For:

As a freelancer in marketing, AI in business images are something Kelly is seeing everywhere, but often without tags meaning it is hard to determine whether it is real or fake.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

He has worked as WSJ's Central and Eastern Europe Correspondent and previously worked as a freelancer and correspondent in Istanbul for Reuters News Agency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

A freelancer by day, I’d appreciated teaching’s miraculous equation: I did my job, they paid me the first of every month.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

Yang, the freelancer, was stoic about the loss of the Galeries.

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

When this issue was raised during a recent journalist debate, Rajan side-stepped it by raising the issue of whether one was a staffer or freelancer while writing for the paper.

From Behind the News: Voices from Goa's Press by Various

"The cost of staying in Edinburgh during August has risen exponentially over the last decade, creating challenges not only for performers but also for the staff and freelancers who make the festival possible," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

In recent years, Letterboxd has made a foray into journalism, hiring an editorial team of staff and freelancers, who publish solid film writing on Letterboxd Journal.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

“Our clients don’t ask, ‘Are you working on my project from 8 to 5?’ ” says Munro, who manages a team of five full-time employees and about 22 freelancers scattered across the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Hobbyists use it on personal projects, while freelancers use it to spin up their own business ideas.

From Slate ● Apr. 14, 2026

Many freelancers rotate in these weekly assignments, and we probably won’t see them again this summer.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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