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

More recently, failures at large distributors have shown how quickly deliveries can be interrupted, even when goods are available.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026

They remain at large and were last seen wearing ski masks and black and gray clothing, the spokesperson said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Tango was quickly found nearby, but Samba remains at large.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

Comparable operations take four to six months at large, diversified hyperscalers, BofA said.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

For the universe at large, matters are naturally magnified.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

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