at large

Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for the election of public officials by an entire governmental unit rather than by subdivisions of the unit. For example, a delegate at large does not represent any specific district or locale, but speaks instead for a much wider group of people.

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at large Idioms  

1. Free, unconfined, especially not confined in prison, as in To our distress, the housebreakers were still at large . [1300s]

2. At length, fully; also, as a whole, in general. For example, The chairman talked at large about the company's plans for the coming year , or, as Shakespeare wrote in Love's Labour's Lost (1:1): “So to the laws at large I write my name” (that is, I uphold the laws in general). This usage is somewhat less common. [1400s]

3. Elected to represent an entire group of voters rather than those in a particular district or other segment—for example, alderman at large , representing all the wards of a city instead of just one, or delegate at large to a labor union convention . [Mid-1700s]

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Example Sentences

The complaints name 20 alleged members and associates, three of whom remain at large and one who was already in state custody.

From Los Angeles Times

Akshay Amesur, a Brown medical student, said he and his friends were “terrified” after police released a person of interest related to the shooting, and they realized the suspect was still at large.

From The Wall Street Journal

He has become a voice for Altadena at large and especially for the Black community, which made up nearly 20% of the town.

From Los Angeles Times

“I think there’s a gap of trust there, because young people don’t feel represented by more established politics and the greater system at large,” Morales said.

From Salon

Yet a deeper understanding of Angkor’s complexities, and of Cambodian art at large, has often eluded audiences.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• able
• clear
• easy
• independent
• loose
• open
• unfettered
• unrestricted