Free State
Americannoun
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U.S. History. (before the Civil War) a state in which slavery was prohibited.
noun
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a province of central South Africa; replaced the former province of Orange Free State in 1994: gold and uranium mining. Capital: Bloemfontein. Pop: 2 950 661 (2004 est). Area: 129 480 sq km (49 992 sq miles)
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history (before the Civil War) any state prohibiting slavery
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short for Irish Free State
Etymology
Origin of Free State
First recorded in 1640–50
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.
Tracks from the Triassic and Jurassic periods are common in Lesotho and nearby regions of South Africa, including the Free State and Eastern Cape.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026
He also served as the chairperson of the ANC for a decade and was the first premier of the newly-established Free State province after 1994, when South Africa entered the democratic era.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
During his Springbok tenure, the former Free State flanker, who won 37 international caps, has innovated with strokes of genius such as naming a bench with just one back and rolling mauls in open play.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2025
Cronje was appointed Orange Free State captain aged 21 and the batting all-rounder soon became a part of the post-apartheid South Africa team which re-emerged on the international stage.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2025
His great-grandfather had been a chief in the Orange Free State, and had greeted the Afrikaner voortrekkers of the nineteenth century with open arms and gifts of land, and then been betrayed.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
