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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

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

She remains an at-will employee, according to people familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 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

And the secretary’s power of at-will removal resolves one part of the panel’s constitutional flaw.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024

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

Unlike publicly traded stocks, these investments are illiquid, meaning they can’t be sold at will and they can’t be reliably priced.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

They argue that choosing the timing of one’s death is a matter of autonomy, that one should be able to lay down one’s life at will rather than suffer through difficult circumstances.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026

The kids in our history class at Burnt Mill Creek High School all believed Cade was some sort of superhero who could inflict brain aneurysms at will.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

Related Words

• candidly
• openly
• voluntarily
• willingly