Free State

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noun

U.S. History. (before the Civil War) a state in which slavery was prohibited.

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Origin of Free State

First recorded in 1640–50

Words nearby Free State

free speech, free-spending, free spirit, free-spoken, freestanding, Free State, Free Stater, freestone, Freestone State, freestyle, freestyling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Free State in a sentence

The Free State evolved decades later into an economically troubled but otherwise stable Republic.
Wounds of World War I Have Yet to Heal|Michael F. Bishop|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His stated goal was to create an all-white “Carolina Free State.”
Hate—and Hitler—in the Heartland: The Arrest of Frazier Glenn Miller|John Avlon, Caitlin Dickson|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His 1971 Booker Prize-winning book, In a Free State, slips in and out of different genres—the novel, autobiography, documentary.
The Daily Beast Recommends|The Daily Beast|March 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Czapek says: "The well-known methyl pentoses do not occur in the free state in plant organisms so far as we know."
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron)|William Anderson Syme

In their free state they are extremely wild, and remain constantly in the woods.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
The Free State preponderance among settlers constantly increased.
A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year|Edwin Emerson
Nearly all the clearing, plowing, and planting was done by Free State men.
A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year|Edwin Emerson
Kansas, according to Greeley's expressive phrase, "was steadily hardening into the bone and sinew of a Free State."
A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year|Edwin Emerson

British Dictionary definitions for Free State

Free State

noun

a province of central South Africa; replaced the former province of Orange Free State in 1994: gold and uranium mining. Capital: Bloemfontein. Pop: 2 950 661 (2004 est). Area: 129 480 sq km (49 992 sq miles)

US history (before the Civil War) any state prohibiting slavery

short for Irish Free State

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