gratis
Americanadverb
adjective
adverb
Etymology
Origin of gratis
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin grātīs freely, contraction of grātiīs with favors, graces (ablative plural of grātia grace )
Explanation
When there’s a concert you want to go to and your best friend gets tickets and takes you gratis, be grateful: that means you’re going for free. You can use gratis as a synonym for "free" or "without payment." It can be either an adjective or an adverb. For example, you buy a new smart phone and immediately download several free apps. You get your first bill, and see you’ve been charged for all those apps. When you call the phone company, you can say, “Those apps were labeled as gratis. I downloaded them gratis. Why are you charging me?”
Vocabulary lists containing gratis
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Vocabulary from the Magna Carta on its 800th Anniversary
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The Merchant of Venice
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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.
Some publish gratis, some require a paid subscription and many others offer a combination of free and paid content.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025
Sonoma being Sonoma, wineries set up booths and ballpark food — hot dogs, peanuts and popcorn — was gratis.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2024
"We cannot allow others to simply use it free, gratis and for nothing. That would be unfair."
From BBC • Oct. 3, 2023
There are, indeed, many parts of the U.S. that have made parking plentiful and gratis, at great cost to the environment, the architecture, and the neighborhood.
From Slate • May 3, 2023
Supporters were emerging on both sides, and by Saturday afternoon, a local lawyer, Ed Lim, had offered to represent Bebe Chow, gratis, and sue the state for custody of her daughter.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
