free-run
Americanverb (used without object)
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to run or operate freely.
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to operate, as a circadian rhythm, without external timekeeping signals.
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to explore freely, without being confined to specific paths or areas: used in video game contexts and in parkour.
noun
adjective
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Canadian. (of farm animals, especially poultry) permitted to roam freely indoors.
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Canadian. produced by farm animals, especially poultry, that are permitted to roam freely indoors.
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:
Some of the juice isn’t pressed, but is known as free-run juice, which makes for the most flavorful wine.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 17, 2016
It's made from free-run juice of Chenin Blanc, aged on its lees for several months.
From Los Angeles Times
The aim of such experiments is to get the body to "free-run" and see what sort of patterns it establishes on its own.
From Time Magazine Archive
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He was not the only free-running forward on show.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
Purdy saw it — he had kept his eyes upfield, and he let a vector go straight to his free-running tight end.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 22, 2023
Thierry Henry, affected for a while by a first-minute head knock, had a splendid, free-running spell after the interval and compelled Buffon to an important stop.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2018
The best arrow in Bob Baffert’s quill, Cupid is a free-running colt but also a lightly raced one.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2016
He paused near Tom and spun one of the free-running wheels of the buckboard, and he inspected Tom as though he saw him for the first time.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.