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free-range

American  
[free-reynj] / ˈfriˌreɪndʒ /

adjective

  1. (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.

  2. of, relating to, or produced by free-range animals.

    free-range eggs.

  3. 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.


free-range British  

adjective

  1. kept or produced in natural nonintensive conditions

    free-range hens

    free-range eggs

"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-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.

“He has free range as long as it’s a shot he can make,” LeDuc said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

In Kenya, much of what was once free range for elephants to roam has been subdivided for housing or farming.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

One of the strategists has free range deciding when and how he will participate.

From New York Times • Apr. 28, 2024

The hope for Scheffler is he would have free range by the weekend.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2024

In no time at all, they reached the prairie, where the wild cats and the chickens had free range and chased each other back and forth.

From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder

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