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
Who says every political leader in the free world is unpopular?
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026
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 previously suggested that his successor would be from "the free world", that is, outside China.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025
We too belonged to that wide free world.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
