First recorded in 1945–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The soldiers who once called each other Redcoats and Yankees became the Tommies and the GIs who together saved the free world," he said.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
If New York falls, the entire free world may again totter on its foundations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025
It also made him a kingpin and punched his ticket to serve as co-leader of the free world for several months.
From Slate • Oct. 17, 2025
The Dalai Lama has said previously that his successor would be born in the "free world" outside China.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025
How do you explain to an innocent citizen of the free world the importance of a credit default swap on a double-A tranche of a subprime-backed collateralized debt obligation?
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
