ad libitum
Americanadjective
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at one's pleasure.
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Music. not obligatory or indispensable. ad lib.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ad libitum
Borrowed into English from Latin around 1695–1705
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.
Participants were assigned either to an ad libitum low-fat vegan diet centered on fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, or to a control group that continued eating as usual without making any dietary changes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
In a randomized clinical trial involving adults with overweight, participants who followed an ad libitum low-fat vegan diet substantially reduced the number of calories per gram of food they consumed.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Half of the mice ate all their food in 8 hours during the night, as mice usually do, while the other half ate ad libitum, anytime they wanted.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2022
This form of husbandry, known as ad libitum feeding, is cheap and convenient since animal technicians need only check the hoppers from time to time to make sure they haven’t run dry.
From Slate ● Nov. 16, 2011
Furthermore, she exhibits her powers ad libitum with the same persons, and repeats indefinitely the same experiments before them.
From Mysterious Psychic Forces An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants by Camille Flammarion
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
