free solo

American  

[free soh-loh] / ˈfri ˈsoʊ loʊ /

noun

• free solos
  plural

1. the act or sport of climbing a rockface without using rope, harness, or any other aids or equipment.

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adjective

1. involving or engaging in climbing without using rope, harness, or any other aids or equipment.

verb

free soloed, free soloing

1. to climb (a rockface or the like) without using rope, harness, or any other aids or equipment.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• free soloist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• free solos
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

free solo

Honnold is the first person to free solo climb Taipei 101, without a rope, harness, or safety net, but not the first to reach its peak.

From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026

Finally, she’s put out feelers to those with private planes, even offering to provide a free solo concert in return for a flight to Wichita.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 8, 2025

Another renowned Alaskan climber Mark Westman, compared him to Alex Honnold, who became the first person to free solo a full route on El Capitan.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025

Almost all climbers free solo to some degree.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2022

Alex Honnold completes the first free solo climb of famed El Capitan’s 3,000-foot vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2019