free ride
Americannoun
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Informal. something obtained without effort or cost.
The fact that you're the general's sondoesn't mean you'll get a free ride in the army.
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Stud Poker. a round of betting in which each player checks and therefore receives another card without having to contribute any chips to the pot.
Etymology
Origin of free ride
First recorded in 1895–1900
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.
But because Erle wasn’t getting a free ride and he didn’t want to take on student-loan debt, he had to work.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Arnold Irinco was part of a line of commuters on Thursday morning who were queuing up for a free ride provided by the government.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
How many think that joy ride will be a free ride, like a bonus code at the casino?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
Early on, the kids learned there’s no such thing as a free ride.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2025
The free ride may be provided by mosquitoes, fleas, lice, or tsetse flies that spread malaria, plague, typhus, or sleeping sickness, respectively.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
