free rein
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of free rein
First recorded in 1950–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The show’s theme song, which comes from Emmy and Grammy-winning composer Danny Elfman, who created iconic theme songs for “The Simpsons” and “Wednesday,” was given free rein.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Wilton has been given free rein to improve England's fielding.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
“One of the things I knew going into the project is that we weren’t going to have free rein access to them at every minute, every second of their time in Los Angeles,” he said.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2026
Letting AI complete tasks for you often means giving it free rein over your data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
He now had free rein to explore the house.
From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
