free-range
Americanadjective
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(of livestock and domestic poultry) permitted to graze or forage for grain, etc., rather than being confined to a feedlot or a small enclosure.
a free-range pig.
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of, relating to, or produced by free-range animals.
free-range eggs.
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Informal. noting or relating to a style of child rearing in which parents allow their children to move about without constant adult supervision: free-range parents.
free-range kids;
free-range parents.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of free-range
First recorded in 1910–15
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.
Free-range poultry farming will be banned in these zones starting November 10, save for exceptional cases.
From Barron's • Nov. 6, 2025
Free-range: It gets tricky as third party labels—like Certified Humane and American Humane—have different definitions for free-range than the USDA’s.
From National Geographic • Sep. 22, 2023
Free-range eggs will return to shelves within days as bird flu restrictions ease across most of the UK on Tuesday.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2023
"Free-range," "pasture-raised," "grass-fed" can all mean different things depending on the setting and certification.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2021
Free-range farming, as it is called, will make life much better for millions of animals.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
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.
