Synonyms

scot-free

American

[skot-free] / ˈskɒtˈfri /

adjective

completely free from harm, restraint, punishment, or obligation.

The driver of the car escaped from the accident scot-free. The judge let the defendant off scot-free.

scot-free British

adverb

(predicative) without harm, loss, or penalty

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of scot-free

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; scot, -free

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.

They shouldn’t be let off scot-free.

From Los Angeles Times

There are other similarly situated individuals who get off scot-free for perjury.

From Slate

But there are winners and losers and winners who feel like losers and schemers who get away with their misdeeds scot-free.

From Los Angeles Times

But I also think about the alternative, which is for him to just walk away scot-free.

From Slate

But the jury will soon hear that New York criminal law is not so naïve as to allow the ringleader of a criminal scheme to get off scot-free, simply because his minions did the deeds.

From Slate

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023