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free

free

660 1.0
Able to live without being owned or controlled by other people
  • adjective
  • /friː/
: libre
  • He Hinckley is a free man right now.
  • a free man
  • break free
  • set free

He's going to talk in terms of a free nation, Freya folk.

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Examples

  • The movement fought for everyone to be free from oppression and injustice.

  • Does this mean that his life as a free person is over?

  • America is a nation where you are free to be a Christian.

  • I wanted to make a place where anyone is free to be themselves.

  • Because wherever people long to be free, they will find a friend in the United States.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The person that I am today is free, healthy and thriving.

  • There must be a meeting of black and white minds as free from prejudice as possible.

    Academic text (2011)
  • China is one of the freest societies in the world.

  • We should be backing the people who want to make Algeria free, all right?

  • Byzantine monks in the East were free persons and, at the same time, obedient to traditional authority.

    Academic text (2015)

Synonyms

at liberty
vsfree
38 3.6

Free to do what you want without rules stopping you

refers specifically to not being held in slavery or servitude
unfettered
vsfree
30 7.3

Free from limits or rules

applies to personal freedom from slavery rather than general lack of limits

Antonyms

2 6.1

Not free because someone else controls your life or choices

Idioms

408 1.0

Without paying any money

You do not have to pay for it

scot-free
  • Informal
19 8.4

Not punished for doing something wrong

free to chat
  • Texting
1 2.0

Available now and willing to have a short talk

To stay constantly in someone's thoughts and annoy them

Compounds

free speech
  • Formal
177 3.2

The right to say what you think in public without the government stopping you

119 5.8

Ability to choose what you do without being controlled by outside forces

119 1.0

A time when you are not working and can do things you enjoy

109 3.5

Buying and selling between countries without government taxes or limits

free agent
  • Jargon
84 3.9

A professional athlete not under contract who can sign with any team

Free World
  • Archaic
56 6.7

Countries with non-communist governments that opposed the Soviet Union during the Cold War

51 2.8

A shot taken from the free-throw line without being blocked after a foul

free ride
  • Informal
43 4.2

A benefit you get without paying or working

free zone
  • Specialized
39 4.1

An area near a port where companies store goods for export without paying customs duties

A system where private businesses compete and the market sets prices with little government control

free pass
  • Informal
37 4.2

An excuse that lets someone avoid rules or blame because of their position

35 1.0

Food you are given without paying

34 4.8

A person who follows their own way and ignores social rules

free lunch
  • Informal
31 4.2

Something offered without obvious cost but that often has hidden costs

free agency
  • Jargon
30 3.7

A time when a player can sign with any team because they have no contract

free press
  • Literature
28 3.0

News media that report independently and are not controlled by the government

28 1.0

A food or drink that contains no fat

free-for-all
  • Informal
23 6.2

A wild fight or argument with many people and no rules

free fall
  • Specialized
17 4.0

Movement of something downwards while only gravity pulls it

16 4.6

A sudden large drop in value, often of stocks or prices

free software
  • Specialized
16 3.2

A computer program with its code available that you can use, change, and share without paying

15 5.6

A chance to avoid punishment or trouble

14 3.4

A ticket that lets someone enter a place without paying

12 2.3

Not paying money to live in a house or room

An agreement from 1994 that made trade easier between the United States, Canada, and Mexico

free love
  • NSFW
12 6.5

Sex between people who are not married, often part of a belief in sexual freedom

11 4.1

Freedom to act and make choices without someone controlling you

free radical
  • Specialized
10 5.1

A small unstable atom or molecule that can damage body cells by reacting with them

10 3.7

A person who sells their work to different companies or people without a long contract

9 6.3

A person who acts alone and does not follow group plans

9 4.1

The freedom to act or decide without being told what to do

8 7.2

A belief in religious ideas based on reason and facts rather than on tradition or leaders

8 5.3

Giving children freedom to explore and make choices with little adult help

7 3.4

A heavy object like a dumbbell or barbell that you lift for exercise

free kick
  • Specialized
6 2.3

A kick given to a team after the other team breaks a rule, taken without nearby opponents

free state
  • Archaic
6 6.9

A state where laws did not allow people to own slaves before the American Civil War

free energy
  • Specialized
5 6.3

Amount of energy in a system that can do work

free-and-easy
  • Informal
5 5.7

Relaxed and friendly without following strict rules

5 3.9

A person who supports trade between countries without import taxes or other barriers

A way of eating that avoids foods with gluten for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance

free form
  • Specialized
4 6.5

A small part of language that can be a whole word

A chicken raised outdoors with space to move around and find food

free verse
  • Literature
3 6.0

Poems that do not have regular rhyme or a steady beat

free association
  • Specialized
2 6.8

A way of saying the first thought that comes to your mind to find hidden feelings

Supporting a system where private businesses compete with little government control

2 6.1

A province in central South Africa known for farming and wide open plains

2 7.3

A way of behaving in which a person enjoys many pleasures and expensive things

1 3.5

Does not contain the metal lead

free port
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A part of a port where businesses bring, store, and send goods without paying taxes

free electron
  • Specialized
1 4.9

An electron not attached to an atom that can move freely and carry electricity

1 5.1

Armed forces and political movement led by Charles de Gaulle who resisted German occupation in World War II

1 4.6

Able to fly freely after being released into the wild

free-living
  • Specialized
1 6.4

A living thing that lives on its own and not on another animal or plant

A way of keeping farm animals that lets them roam outdoors

free list
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A list of goods that do not have to pay import tax

1 4.1

A way of running an economy that lets businesses compete with little government control

free pardon
  • Formal
1 5.9

An official act that forgives someone for a crime and ends their legal punishments

A small bat that flies fast, eats insects, and has a tail sticking out past the skin between its wings

free grace
  • Formal
1 9.9

God gives kindness without being earned to save people

free-for-all
  • Jargon
1 4.1

A game mode where each player plays alone against all others

free burning
  • Specialized
1 8.3

A fire that keeps going in open air, often like an electric arc

free-soil
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Of states or territories in the United States that did not allow slavery before the Civil War

A way of eating that avoids salt to help lower blood pressure

A former province in central South Africa settled by Dutch farmers, renamed Free State in 1997

1 3.7

Free mail delivery to people who live in the countryside

Marked rectangle near the basket where players stand during free throws

A former 19th century US party that opposed slavery spreading into western lands

free-reed
  • Specialized
1 9.1

A thin metal tongue that vibrates in a slot to make sound in harmonicas or accordions

free-reed instrument
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A wind instrument that makes sound when air moves a thin reed, like an accordion or harmonica

free house
  • Jargon
1 4.9

A pub not owned by a brewery that can sell beers from any supplier

free rhythm
  • Specialized
1 7.7

Music played without a regular beat so the timing flows freely

rent-free
  • Slang
1 8.2

To stay in someone's mind when they do not want it

A shot taken from the foul line after a foul by the other team

How Free

emancipated
4 6.8
free
660 1.0
restricted
149 3.9

Surface Forms

free positive
freer comparative
freest superlative

Etymology

Free comes from an old German word frijaz that meant both 'beloved' and 'not in bondage'; people who were 'free' were not slaves. So, free today still means a person is not held in slavery or servitude.