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• at-will
  at-will

  adjective

  being, relating to, or involved in a work agreement that the employer or employee may legally end at any time without notice or cause.
• at will
  at will

  Freely, as one pleases, as in The grounds are open to the public and one can wander about at will, or With this thermostat you can adjust the room temperature at will. [1300s]

at-will

American  

[at-wil] / ˈætˈwɪl /

adjective

1. being, relating to, or involved in a work agreement that the employer or employee may legally end at any time without notice or cause.

   Companies in this industry often use both contract and at-will employment options.

   Since they aren't at-will employees, they can only be discharged with cause.

   Even in at-will states, employers cannot fire you for discriminatory reasons.

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at will Idioms  

1. Freely, as one pleases, as in The grounds are open to the public and one can wander about at will, or With this thermostat you can adjust the room temperature at will. [1300s]

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Etymology

Origin of at-will

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

at-will at will

Now, historically, the heads of agencies like the State and Commerce and Defense departments have already been subject to at-will presidential control.

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026

The court had to decide whether it would uphold Humphrey’s Executor, a precedent from a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1935 that protected employees of federal regulatory agencies from at-will termination.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

Alfonsi had been an at-will employee after her contract with the news program wasn’t renewed over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

US employers generally have broad discretion to fire workers for any reason, as most staff are hired under "at-will" contracts.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025

Principals have tenure protections as teachers but are at-will employees as principals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024

“You are all employees at will and can choose to abide by this mandate in the terms laid out above or not,” read the note, signed by Nieporte, DeGaetano and Selver.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

Instead, the surviving spouse can redeploy the funds at will.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

We may live in an increasingly lawless society, but that doesn’t mean all significance should be abandoned at will.

From Salon ● May 10, 2026

Bell has previously warned that the scope of the evidence that the inquiry can look at will be limited given the current court proceedings for Naveed Akram.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

She discovered that freedom meant more than the right to change jobs at will, more than the right to keep the money that one earned.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry

Related Words

• candidly
• openly
• voluntarily
• willingly