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

See Examples For:

at large

As a police investigation and manhunt continues - and amid the tributes and grief - there is also whispered concern that a perpetrator could still be at large.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

They still haven’t been paid, they say, and the truck remains at large.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

That challenge is familiar at large mining operations, where specialized teams manage ventilation and water systems.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

This caught the attention of donors as well as the opera world at large with the release of DVDs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

The experience is understood to define the terms of one’s relationship not only to the state but to society at large.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

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