free rein
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of free rein
First recorded in 1950–55
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.
“One of the things I knew going into the project is that we weren’t going to have free rein access to them at every minute, every second of their time in Los Angeles,” he said.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
Without it, it was argued, tech firms would be given free rein to help themselves to UK content and train their AI products to mimic it - putting human artists out of work.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
But a bigger majority in parliament could give her coalition free rein for expansionary fiscal policy.
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
Sephora gave shoppers free rein to schmear on lipstick and play with eye shadow.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 8, 2025
“Let ’em have free rein, they’d find him quick enough!”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
