free house

American

noun

British.

a tavern that, having no affiliation or contract with a particular brewery, serves several brands of beer, ale, etc.

free house British

noun

a public house not bound to sell only one brewer's products

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of free house

First recorded in 1855–60

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.

See Examples For:

free house

He said he hadn't found a single free house in the city, "not even a shelter".

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

After all, she also got some lovely free house renovations out of the whole deal.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2023

"I'm a free house and therefore can choose what I want to sell."

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2023

He lives above the free house with his wife and four kids and is happy.

From Washington Post ● May 2, 2023

For this work the wages are about thirty-five pounds sterling a year with double rations, a free house, use of cow, &c.

From Missing Friends Being the Adventures of a Danish Emigrant in Queensland (1871-1880) by Thorvald Weitemeyer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023