free verse
Americannoun
noun
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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
One of the first songs that got written for this record was “Devil You Know,” which was like an experiment where I wrote this poem in free verse.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Short chapters presented in free verse make this an easy book to read, though it’s the most sober of the three under review, thanks to the more realistic career of its protagonist.
From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2022
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
Feeling for the first time that I could speak to listening ears, I wrote a wild, crude poem in free verse, coining images of black hands playing, working, holding bayonets, stiffening finally in death ...
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
