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; see origin at 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.

See Examples For:

scot-free

The second case for concern is the idea that the British are bringing the powerful to account while America is letting them off scot-free.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

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

From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024

And there must be others who are guilty of traffic infractions in Greenwich who have got off scot-free.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2023

Whereas Alex eventually pays the ultimate price for her sins in the film, as Jackson points out, Dan essentially gets off scot-free.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2023

Grandma may have escaped the horrors of the Holocaust, but she didn’t get off scot-free.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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