freely
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of freely
before 900; Middle English freliche, Old English frēolīce. See free, -ly
Explanation
When you do something freely, you act without restraint or control by anyone or anything. Weekends are best when you can freely choose when to wake up and what to do with your days. Many people spend their childhoods yearning to be older so they can freely live their lives. On a smaller scale, if you let your backyard chickens roam unchecked around your property, they can move freely; and if you ice skate on a lake instead of a small indoor rink, you can move freely, in any direction, without being scolded. Freely comes from free, with its Old English root freo, "acting of one's own will."
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.
Leeds don't concede goals as freely any more.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The attacks were the latest to highlight the vulnerability of even hardened targets to hackers using freely available artificial-intelligence tools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The first light able to travel freely from that moment on is what we now observe as the cosmic microwave background.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
He told BBC Scotland News: "It's a bit counterintuitive but extending restrictions is actually a positive thing because it means we've got the ability to move stock freely anywhere in the country now."
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
For what creature had not been freely given the aid and special knowledge of the kindly mice?
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
