at large

Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for the election of public officials by an entire governmental unit rather than by subdivisions of the unit. For example, a delegate at large does not represent any specific district or locale, but speaks instead for a much wider group of people.

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at large Idioms  

1. Free, unconfined, especially not confined in prison, as in To our distress, the housebreakers were still at large . [1300s]

2. At length, fully; also, as a whole, in general. For example, The chairman talked at large about the company's plans for the coming year , or, as Shakespeare wrote in Love's Labour's Lost (1:1): “So to the laws at large I write my name” (that is, I uphold the laws in general). This usage is somewhat less common. [1400s]

3. Elected to represent an entire group of voters rather than those in a particular district or other segment—for example, alderman at large , representing all the wards of a city instead of just one, or delegate at large to a labor union convention . [Mid-1700s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

at large

At least four Teslas were vandalized on July 17 with an additional nine more on July 23, he said, adding that the vandal, who remains at large, wrote “offensive language” on the vehicles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Several suspects have since been charged and international arrest warrants are being pursued for others still at large.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

He remains at large, with a $50,000 Federal Bureau of Investigation bounty on his head.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

That challenge is familiar at large mining operations, where specialized teams manage ventilation and water systems.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

Sargo and other key spies remained at large, but there was no longer any easy way to track them.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

• able
• clear
• easy
• independent
• loose
• open
• unfettered
• unrestricted