free flight

American  

noun

1. unassisted or unconstrained flight, as the flight of a rocket or missile without guidance or after fuel exhaustion or motor cutoff.

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free flight British  

noun

1. the flight of a rocket, missile, etc, when its engine has ceased to produce thrust

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Etymology

Origin of free flight

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

free flight

The ‘thermals’ in the Owens Valley are to free flight what legendary waves like Mavericks and Jaws are to surfing: big, terrifying and, to a certain type of person, hopelessly addictive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

As well as the presents, Jet2 sent the family free flight vouchers and thanked them for "showing the utmost compassion and kindness and care".

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

JetBlue didn’t appear to respond on a woman’s post claiming it had failed to deliver a promised free flight to Italy after her original booking was canceled, even as comments like “ewwww” accumulated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025

This is the first study relating to the behavior of blood in free flight.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2024

I didn’t know how long I had been concerned with the hawks free flight.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya