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.
But others allow the companies free rein, according to state regulators.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
Nearly 90 percent of green spaces in Washington are under federal control, meaning the president has almost free rein to change them to his liking.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
“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
Born in 1827, Stanley was the eldest of 10 children given free rein to develop their own thoughts and beliefs.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2026
Star Trek was set in 2266, but it wasn’t necessary to wait three centuries to see what America’s finest minds could do, given free rein.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
