a shape having an irregular contour, chiefly used in nonrepresentational art and industrial design.
Linguistics. a linguistic form that can occur by itself, as fire, book, or run.
characterized by free form.
free-form sculpture.
not organized or planned in a conventional way.
a free-form international conglomerate.
encouraged to function or evolve without advance planning; spontaneous.
free-form management.
First recorded in 1945–50
First recorded in 1950–55
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Slab pies and galettes are rustic and free form, but that doesn't mean they're ugly.
From Salon • Oct. 3, 2021
But celebrities don’t have a lock on this free form, open-mic talent show.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2020
“Los Olvidados” progressed like a soap opera, one scene cutting into the seemingly unrelated next one — highlights being jet-speed free form and mournful march sections with beautiful solos from Shepp and a wah-wah-muted ElSaffar.
From Washington Post • Feb. 11, 2019
For one moment, there is only the molten dawn sun lighting the sky a poet red and the air racing cooly past him as he drops in free form flight.
From Slate • Feb. 19, 2018
Another defect of the process lies in sulphur being volatilised in the free form, and settling upon the wool causes it to turn yellow, and this yellow colour cannot be got rid of.
From The Dyeing of Woollen Fabrics by Beech, Franklin
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.
