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

Steinem first drew public notice when she was in her 20s and struggling to establish herself as a freelance writer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Years ago, because I was a freelance writer, I opened a SEP IRA.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

As a freelance writer based in the South, I immediately realized I needed to become obsessed with the details of this case and start reporting.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

The 24-year-old Londoner, now working remotely as a freelance journalist, still frequently uses LinkedIn to make connections—professional, social and maybe more—that she doesn’t have easy access to without a team or an office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

His father, Guy Waterman, is a musician and freelance writer who, among other claims to modest fame, authored speeches for presidents, ex-presidents, and other prominent Washington politicians.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

“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

Cross, who occasionally freelances for The Seattle Times, first brought the idea of digitizing the magazine to John Vallier, curator of the UW Ethnomusicology Archives, in 2015.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 29, 2023

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

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

Mr. Sauer and Mr. Merriman were in England for the express purpose of discrediting Lord Milner, and behind these fierce political freelances was the astute brain of the Bond Master, Hofmeyr.

From Lord Milner's Work in South Africa From its Commencement in 1897 to the Peace of Vereeniging in 1902 by W. Basil (William Basil) Worsfold

She began writing straight out of college, freelanced for years and eventually followed a path taken by many young Filipinos: joining a multinational in the country's booming outsourcing industry.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

She also freelanced from Cambodia, covering the Khmer Rouge war crimes trials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

She has freelanced for Barron’s and other publications.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2025

Walkers, though, freelanced the design into a smaller form, closer to the size of a potato chip, which they introduced with the help of a Sikh Elvis impersonator in the late 1980s.

From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2024

I worked for newspapers and freelanced for magazines.

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

Humanitarian groups see online work - particularly freelancing for clients abroad - as offering some of the best opportunities.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

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

That was what brought me to marketing myself as an “academic editor,” and an “admissions essay advisor,” on various freelancing websites last fall.

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

She worked as a speech therapist for children, mostly freelancing in the public schools and then part-time at a speech and hearing clinic downtown.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

• self-employed