free verse
Americannoun
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free verses
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of free verse
First recorded in 1905–10
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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.
Singsong rhyme and meter are out; free verse and wistfulness are in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
The history of art reads here as one long, free verse poem-in-progress, gorgeous and absorbing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
It spans 22 panels, down which Cendrars’s free verse runs in 30 different typefaces.
From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2023
During the session, participants were prompted to describe vivid paintings and photographs through spoken word; each of my peers shared intimate writing samples that took place in free verse, rap and song.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2022
“Looks kind of like free verse, doesn’t it?”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
