free speech
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of free speech
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50
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.
Social media companies have evaded certain types of lawsuits in the United States due to free speech protections that shield them from liability.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Cofnas’s case soon mushroomed into a test of free speech at Cambridge, with academics publicly urging Cambridge to either terminate Cofnas or keep him on at all costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Togo has faced criticism for clamping down on free speech, with several foreign journalists detained in recent years.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Ignore how free speech does not entail freedom from consequences.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
From what I understand, free speech is something Americans cherish, so they allowed us to continue chanting.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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.
