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

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Etymology

Origin of freelance

First recorded in 1810–20; free + lance ¹

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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

There’s a tendency to think that, because one has had any success at all, be it a musical callback or a greenlit freelance piece or a short story selected for publication, that they know best.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026

And the ECB has previously refused NOCs to former England players who have wanted to pursue freelance T20 careers.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Michael Sincere is a freelance financial writer and the author of several books, including “Understanding Stocks,” “Understanding Options” and “Help Your Child Build Wealth.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

“Omg did she use fiverr to get a freelance graphic designer lol,” one commenter wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

I had left Howard without a degree and was living on the impoverished wages of a freelance writer.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

“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 William McFee

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

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

It was the logo for the freelancing website Fiverr.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Now Mahran finds an escape and purpose freelancing to create mobile apps, websites and advertisements.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

I created a profile on the freelancing website Upwork.

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

The fact that you’re earning $100,000 freelancing is extremely impressive.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026

Dandy took what work he could find, setting pins in a bowling alley and freelancing as a handyman.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

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