free hand

noun

1. unrestricted freedom or authority.

   They gave the decorator a free hand.

free hand

noun

1. unrestricted freedom to act (esp in the phrase give ( someone ) a free hand )

adjective

1. (done) by hand without the use of guiding instruments

   a freehand drawing

Word History and Origins

Origin of free hand¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Idioms and Phrases

Also, free rein. Freedom to do or decide as one sees fit. For example, The teacher gave her assistant a free hand with the class, or They gave me free rein to reorganize the department. The first expression dates from the late 1800s, the second from the mid-1900s.

Example Sentences

Still,it’s clear Republicans are hoping to be given a free hand to eliminate majority-minority districts altogether.

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Last month the transport committee of the European parliament voted to give passengers the right to an extra piece of free hand luggage weighing up to 7kg.

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The commission must approve exception appointments at the most senior grade, but below this level departments have a free hand to recruit.

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Yoakam cupped his free hand around the bottom of the phone to help amplify the sound.

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But we do know that the court's right-wing majority believes that virtually nothing he does could possibly be criminal, so he's pretty much got a free hand.

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