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

They say being a free house pub has been helpful, as they are in control of what they do.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025

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

From Washington Post ● May 2, 2023

And you write that your "free" house had all these unexpected and expensive issues, including the roof having problems.

From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2021

It had, however, one thing in its favour—it was a free house, and William said they had only to go on supplying good stuff, and trade would be sure to come back to them.

From Esther Waters by George (George Augustus) Moore

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