First recorded in 1945–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable. He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world," Netanyahu said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
“Room” shows how arduous it can be to assimilate the rules and mores of the free world after a lifetime of captivity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
"The soldiers who once called each other Redcoats and Yankees became the Tommies and the GIs who together saved the free world," he said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
We’re just putting him in charge of the free world.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2025
Like the leader of the free world could relax when he was being held down on a snowbank.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The mission of the Foundation for a Smoke Free World, which Philip Morris started in 2017, is to reduce deaths and diseases caused by smoking.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
“That means ensuring the Free World continues to lead when it comes to AI innovation combined with sensible guardrails for AI use.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
“The Free World” is an old-fashioned phrase that once connoted the United States, its allies, and their spheres of influence, and The Free World is in some ways an old-fashioned book.
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2021
A New York court heard on Tuesday that the Canadian objected to Trump's use of Rockin' in the Free World and Devil's Sidewalk.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2020
If the United States canceled the tests, it would lose technological ground to the Soviets; if it staged them, the nation would “lose the confidence of the Free World as the champion of peace.”
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
