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free
1[free]
adjective
enjoying personal rights or liberty, as a person who is not in slavery.
a land of free people.
pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty.
They were thankful to be living on free soil.
existing under, characterized by, or possessing civil and political liberties that are, as a rule, constitutionally guaranteed by representative government.
the free nations of the world.
enjoying political autonomy, as a people or country not under foreign rule; independent.
exempt from external authority, interference, restriction, etc., as a person or one's will, thought, choice, action, etc.; independent; unrestricted.
able to do something at will; at liberty.
free to choose.
clear of obstructions or obstacles, as a road or corridor.
The highway is now free of fallen rock.
not occupied or in use; available.
I think the main conference room is free, so we can meet there.
I'm moving to a new apartment, and that’s taking up most of my free time.
exempt or released from something specified that controls, restrains, burdens, etc. (usually followed by from orof ).
free from worry;
free of taxes.
having immunity or being safe (usually followed byfrom ).
free from danger.
provided without, or not subject to, a charge or payment: a free sample.
free parking;
a free sample.
given without consideration of a return or reward.
a free offer of legal advice.
unimpeded, as motion or movement; easy, firm, or swift.
not held fast; loose; unattached.
to get one's arm free.
not joined to or in contact with something else.
The free end of the cantilever sagged.
acting without self-restraint or reserve.
to be too free with one's tongue.
ready or generous in giving; liberal; lavish.
to be free with one's advice.
given readily or in profusion; unstinted.
frank and open; unconstrained, unceremonious, or familiar.
unrestrained by decency; loose or licentious.
free behavior.
not subject to special regulations, restrictions, duties, etc..
The ship was given free passage.
of, relating to, or characterized by free enterprise.
a free economy.
that may be used by or is open to all.
a free market.
engaged in by all present; general.
a free fight.
not literal, as a translation, adaptation, or the like; loose.
uncombined chemically.
free oxygen.
traveling without power; under no force except that of gravity or inertia.
free flight.
Phonetics., (of a vowel) situated in an open syllable (checked ).
at liberty to enter and enjoy at will (usually followed byof ).
to be free of a friend's house.
not subject to rules, set forms, etc..
The young students had an hour of free play between classes.
easily worked, as stone, land, etc.
Mathematics., (of a vector) having specified magnitude and direction but no specified initial point.
Nautical., Also (of a wind) nearly on the quarter, so that a sailing vessel may sail free.
not containing a specified substance (usually followed by of orfrom ).
Our deli meats are free of additives.
(of a linguistic form) occurring as an independent construction, without necessary combination with other forms, as most words.
without cost, payment, or charge.
adverb
in a free manner; freely.
Nautical., away from the wind, so that a sailing vessel need not be close-hauled.
running free.
verb (used with object)
to make free; set at liberty; release from bondage, imprisonment, or restraint.
to exempt or deliver (usually followed byfrom ).
to relieve or rid (usually followed byof ).
to free oneself of responsibility.
to disengage; clear (usually followed by from orof ).
verb phrase
free up
to release, as from restrictions.
Congress voted to free up funds for the new highway system.
to disentangle.
It took an hour to free up the traffic jam.
-free
2a combining form with the general sense “free of or from something specified,” and typically meaning “not having, containing, subject to, or affected by something unwanted, burdensome, etc.”: gluten-free; germfree.
error-free;
gluten-free;
tax-free;
germfree.
free
1/ friː /
adjective
able to act at will; not under compulsion or restraint
having personal rights or liberty; not enslaved or confined
( as noun )
land of the free
not subject (to) or restricted (by some regulation, constraint, etc); exempt
a free market
free from pain
(of a country, etc) autonomous or independent
exempt from external direction or restriction; not forced or induced
free will
not subject to conventional constraints
free verse
(of jazz) totally improvised, with no preset melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic basis
not exact or literal
a free translation
costing nothing; provided without charge
free entertainment
law
not subject to payment of rent or performance of services; freehold
not subject to any burden or charge, such as a mortgage or lien; unencumbered
(postpositive; often foll by of or with) ready or generous in using or giving; liberal; lavish
free with advice
unrestrained by propriety or good manners; licentious
not occupied or in use; available
a free cubicle
not occupied or busy; without previous engagements
I'm not free until Wednesday
open or available to all; public
without charge to the subscriber or user
freepost
freephone
not fixed or joined; loose
the free end of a chain
without obstruction or impediment
free passage
chem chemically uncombined
free nitrogen
phonetics denoting a vowel that can occur in an open syllable, such as the vowel in see as opposed to the vowel in cat
grammar denoting a morpheme that can occur as a separate word Compare bound 1
logic denoting an occurrence of a variable not bound by a quantifier Compare bound 1
(of some materials, such as certain kinds of stone) easily worked
nautical (of the wind) blowing from the quarter
(usually imperative) to regard oneself as having permission to perform a specified action
not_standard, without charge or cost
casual or tolerant; easy-going
to take liberties with; behave too familiarly towards
adverb
in a free manner; freely
without charge or cost
nautical with the wind blowing from the quarter
a yacht sailing free
verb
(sometimes foll by up) to set at liberty; release
to remove obstructions, attachments, or impediments from; disengage
to relieve or rid (of obstacles, pain, etc)
noun
informal, a freesheet
-free
2combining form
free from
trouble-free
lead-free petrol
Other Word Forms
- freeness noun
- overfree adjective
- overfreely adverb
- quasi-free adjective
- quasi-freely adverb
- unfree verb (used with object)
- unfreely adverb
- freer noun
- freely adverb
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of free1
Idioms and Phrases
with a free hand, generously; freely; openhandedly.
He entertains visitors with a free hand.
for free, without charge.
The tailor mended my jacket for free.
free and clear, without any encumbrance, as a lien or mortgage.
They owned their house free and clear.
free and easy,
unrestrained; casual; informal.
excessively or inappropriately casual; presumptuous.
make free with,
to use as one's own; help oneself to.
If you make free with their liquor, you won't be invited again.
to treat with too much familiarity; take liberties with.
set free, to release; liberate; free.
The prisoners were set free.
More idioms and phrases containing free
- breathe easy (freely)
- feel free
- footloose and fancy-free
- for free
- get off (scot-free)
- home free
- make free with
- of one's own accord (free will)
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
You don't get many free hits in the Premier League but this is one of them - Burnley are probably not going to get anything out of this game, but it doesn't matter too much.
In September sportswear giants Nike announced it would provide free boots, external for WSL and WSL2 players, and gloves for keepers - standard practice at the top level of the men's game.
A free update for all “Animal Crossings: New Horizons” players, regardless of console, will also be available Jan. 15.
The fire initially required 30 firefighters but once the incident commander saw the robot’s capabilities, he released more than half in response, freeing crews for other emergencies.
“I ask that you do not let it. We will continue on, no matter what, until every animal is safe and happy, free.”
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When To Use
The combining form -free is used like a suffix meaning “free of or from something specified.” It is often separated from the initial element with a hyphen, as in gluten-free.The form -free is native to English.
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.
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