What does free mean?
Definitions for free
frifree
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word free.
Princeton's WordNet
free, free peopleadjective
people who are free
"the home of the free and the brave"
freeadjective
able to act at will; not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint
"free enterprise"; "a free port"; "a free country"; "I have an hour free"; "free will"; "free of racism"; "feel free to stay as long as you wish"; "a free choice"
freeadjective
unconstrained or not chemically bound in a molecule or not fixed and capable of relatively unrestricted motion
"free expansion"; "free oxygen"; "a free electron"
complimentary, costless, free, gratis(p), gratuitousadjective
costing nothing
"complimentary tickets"; "free admission"
freeadjective
not occupied or in use
"a free locker"; "a free lane"
detached, freeadjective
not fixed in position
"the detached shutter fell on him"; "he pulled his arm free and ran"
freeadjective
not held in servitude
"after the Civil War he was a free man"
spare, freeadjective
not taken up by scheduled activities
"a free hour between classes"; "spare time on my hands"
barren, destitute, devoid, free, innocentadjective
completely wanting or lacking
"writing barren of insight"; "young recruits destitute of experience"; "innocent of literary merit"; "the sentence was devoid of meaning"
free, loose, liberalverb
not literal
"a loose interpretation of what she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem"
free, liberate, release, unloose, unloosen, looseverb
grant freedom to; free from confinement
rid, free, disembarrassverb
relieve from
"Rid the house of pests"
dislodge, freeverb
remove or force out from a position
"The dentist dislodged the piece of food that had been stuck under my gums"; "He finally could free the legs of the earthquake victim who was buried in the rubble"
exempt, relieve, freeverb
grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to
"She exempted me from the exam"
free, releaseverb
make (information) available for publication
"release the list with the names of the prisoners"
free, dischargeverb
free from obligations or duties
free, disengageverb
free or remove obstruction from
"free a path across the cluttered floor"
absolve, justify, freeverb
let off the hook
"I absolve you from this responsibility"
release, relinquish, resign, free, give upverb
part with a possession or right
"I am relinquishing my bedroom to the long-term house guest"; "resign a claim to the throne"
release, free, liberateverb
release (gas or energy) as a result of a chemical reaction or physical decomposition
unblock, unfreeze, free, releaseadverb
make (assets) available
"release the holdings in the dictator's bank account"
loose, freeadverb
without restraint
"cows in India are running loose"
Wiktionary
freenoun
Abbreviation of free kick.
freenoun
free transfer
freenoun
The usual means of restarting play after a foul is committed, where the non-offending team restarts from where the foul was committed.
freeverb
To make free; set at liberty; release; rid of that which confines, limits, embarrasses, or oppresses.
freeadverb
Without needing to pay.
I got this bike free.
freeadjective
Not imprisoned or enslaved.
a free man
freeadjective
Obtainable without any payment.
The government provides free health care.
freeadjective
Obtainable without additional payment, as a bonus given when paying for something else.
Buy a TV to get a free DVD player!
freeadjective
unconstrained.
He was given free rein to do whatever he wanted
freeadjective
Unconstrained by relators.
The free group on three generators
freeadjective
Unconstrained by quantifiers.
z is the free variable in "uE0005uE001".
freeadjective
Unobstructed, without blockages.
The drain was free.
freeadjective
Not in use
Go sit on this chair, it's free.
freeadjective
Without obligations.
free time
freeadjective
With very few limitations on distribution or improvement.
OpenOffice is free software.
freeadjective
Without; not containing (what is specified).
We had a wholesome, filling meal, free of meat
freeadjective
Of identifiers, not bound.
freeadjective
Not attached; loose.
In this group of mushrooms, the gills are free.
freeadjective
That can be used by itself, unattached to another morpheme.
freeadjective
Intended for release, as opposed to a checked version.
Etymology: fre, from freo.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
FREEadjective
Etymology: freah, Saxon; vry, Dutch.
Do faithful homage, and receive free honours,
All which we pine for now. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.A free nation is that which has never been conquered, or thereby entered into any conditions of subjection. William Temple.
Free, what, and fetter’d with so many chains? Dryden.
How can we think any one freer than to have the power to do what he will? John Locke.
This wretched body trembles at your pow’r:
Thus far could fortune; but she can no more:
Free to herself my potent mind remains,
Nor fears the victor’s rage, nor feels his chains. Matthew Prior.Set an unhappy pris’ner free,
Who ne’er intended harm to thee. Matthew Prior.Their use of meats was not like unto our ceremonies, that being a matter of private action in common life, where every man was free to order that which himself did; but this is a publick constitution for the ordering of the church. Richard Hooker.
It was free, and in my choice whether or no I should publish these discourses; yet the publication being once resolved, the dedication was not so indifferent. South.
Freely they stood who stood, and fell who fell:
Not free, what proof could they have giv’n sincere
Of true allegiance, constant faith, or love,
Where only what they needs must do, appear’d;
Not what they would? John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. iii.Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as free
For me as for you? William Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew.Defaming as impure what God declares
Pure; and commands to some, leaves free to all. John Milton.O conspiracy!
Sham’st thou to shew thy dang’rous brow by night,
When evils are most free? William Shakespeare, Julius Cæsar.Physicians are too free upon the subject, in the conversation of their friends. William Temple.
The criticks have been very free in their censures. Henry Felton.
I know there are to whose presumptuous thoughts
Those freer beauties, ev’n in them, seem faults. Alexander Pope.’Tis not to make me jealous;
To say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company,
Is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances well,
Where virtue is, these make more virtuous. William Shakespeare, Othello.Castalio, I have doubts within my heart;
Will you be free and candid to your friend? Thomas Otway, Orph.Being one day very free at a great feast, he suddenly broke forth into a great slaughter. George Hakewill, on Providence.
Free and familiar with misfortune grow,
Be us’d to sorrow, and inur’d to woe. Matthew Prior.Glo’ster too, a foe to citizens,
O’ercharging your free purses with large fines,
That seeks to overthrow religion. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.No statute in his favour says,
How free or frugal I shall pass my days;
I, who at sometimes spend as others spare. Alexander Pope, Horace.Alexandrian verses, of twelve syllables, should never be allowed but when some remarkable beauty or propriety in them atones for the liberty: Mr. John Dryden has been too free of these in his latter works. Alexander Pope.
We wanted words to express our thanks: his noble free offers left us nothing to ask. Francis Bacon, New Atlantis.
Who alone suffers, suffers most i’ th’ mind,
Leaving free things and happy shows behind. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.Make mad the guilty, and appall the free,
Confound the ign’rant. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.My hands are guilty, but my heart is free. Dryden.
These
Are such allow’d infirmities, that honesty
Is never free of. William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale.Who fears not to do ill, yet fears the name;
And free from conscience, is a slave to fame. John Denham.Let envy, then, those crimes within you see,
From which the happy never must be free. Dryden.Their steeds around,
Free from the harness, graze the flow’ry ground. Dryden.The will, free from the determination of such desires, is left to the pursuit of nearer satisfactions. John Locke.
He therefore makes all birds of every sect
Free of his farm, with promise to respect
Their several kinds alike, and equally protect. Dryden.Friend!
What do’st thou make a-shipboard? To what end
Art thou of Bethlem’s noble college free?
Stark-staring mad, that thou shou’dst tempt the sea? Dryd.To Freeverb
Etymology: from the adjective.
The child was prisoner to the womb, and is
By law and process of great nature thence
Free’d and enfranchis’d; not a party to
The anger of the king, nor guilty of,
If any be, the trespass of the queen. William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale.He recovered the temple, free’d the city, and upheld the laws which were going down. 2 Mac. ii. 22.
Can’st thou no other master understand,
Than him that free’d thee by the pretor’s wand? Dryden.Should thy coward tongue
Spread its cold poison through the martial throng,
My jav’lin shall revenge so base a part,
And free the soul that quivers in thy heart. Alexander Pope.It is no marvail, that he could think of no better way to be free’d of these inconveniencies the passions of those meetings gave him, than to dissolve them. Edward Hyde.
Hercules
Free’d Erymanthus from the foaming boar. Dryden.Our land is from the rage of tygers free’d. John Dryden, Virg.
The chaste Sibylla shall your steps convey,
And blood of offer’d victims free the way. Dryden.Fierce was the fight; but hast’ning to his prey,
By force the furious lover free’d his way. Dryden.We may again
Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights,
Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives. William Shakespeare.For he that is dead is free’d from sin. Rom. vi. 7.
This master-key
Frees every lock, and leads us to his person. Dryden.
Webster Dictionary
Free
exempt from subjection to the will of others; not under restraint, control, or compulsion; able to follow one's own impulses, desires, or inclinations; determining one's own course of action; not dependent; at liberty
Free
not under an arbitrary or despotic government; subject only to fixed laws regularly and fairly administered, and defended by them from encroachments upon natural or acquired rights; enjoying political liberty
Free
liberated, by arriving at a certain age, from the control of parents, guardian, or master
Free
not confined or imprisoned; released from arrest; liberated; at liberty to go
Free
not subjected to the laws of physical necessity; capable of voluntary activity; endowed with moral liberty; -- said of the will
Free
clear of offense or crime; guiltless; innocent
Free
unconstrained by timidity or distrust; unreserved; ingenuous; frank; familiar; communicative
Free
unrestrained; immoderate; lavish; licentious; -- used in a bad sense
Free
not close or parsimonious; liberal; open-handed; lavish; as, free with his money
Free
exempt; clear; released; liberated; not encumbered or troubled with; as, free from pain; free from a burden; -- followed by from, or, rarely, by of
Free
characteristic of one acting without restraint; charming; easy
Free
ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited; as, a free horse
Free
invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; -- followed by of
Free
thrown open, or made accessible, to all; to be enjoyed without limitations; unrestricted; not obstructed, engrossed, or appropriated; open; -- said of a thing to be possessed or enjoyed; as, a free school
Free
not gained by importunity or purchase; gratuitous; spontaneous; as, free admission; a free gift
Free
not arbitrary or despotic; assuring liberty; defending individual rights against encroachment by any person or class; instituted by a free people; -- said of a government, institutions, etc
Free
certain or honorable; the opposite of base; as, free service; free socage
Free
privileged or individual; the opposite of common; as, a free fishery; a free warren
Free
not united or combined with anything else; separated; dissevered; unattached; at liberty to escape; as, free carbonic acid gas; free cells
Freeadverb
freely; willingly
Freeadverb
without charge; as, children admitted free
Freeadjective
to make free; to set at liberty; to rid of that which confines, limits, embarrasses, oppresses, etc.; to release; to disengage; to clear; -- followed by from, and sometimes by off; as, to free a captive or a slave; to be freed of these inconveniences
Freeadjective
to remove, as something that confines or bars; to relieve from the constraint of
Freeadjective
to frank
Etymology: [OE. freen, freoien, AS. fregan. See Free, a.]
Freebase
Free
Free was an English rock band formed in London in 1968 best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler and died from a drug-induced heart failure at the age of 25 in 1976. Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks. The band was famed for its sensational live shows and nonstop touring. However, early studio albums did not sell very well – until the release of Fire and Water which featured the massive hit "All Right Now". The song helped secure them a place at the huge Isle of Wight Festival 1970 where they played to 600,000 people. By the early 1970s, Free was one of the biggest-selling British blues-rock groups; by the time the band dissolved in 1973, they had sold more than 20 million albums around the world and had played more than 700 arena and festival concerts. "All Right Now," remains a rock staple, and had been entered into ASCAP's "One Million" airplay singles club. Rolling Stone has referred to the band as "British hard rock pioneers". The magazine ranked Rodgers No. 55 in its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", while Kossoff was ranked No. 51 in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Free
frē, adj. not bound: at liberty: not under arbitrary government: unimpeded: set at liberty: guiltless: frank: lavish: not attached: exempt (with from): having a franchise (with of): gratuitous: bold, indecent: idiomatic, as a translation.—v.t. to set at liberty: to deliver from what confines: to rid (with from, of):—pr.p. free′ing; pa.p. freed.—ns. Free′-ag′ency, state or power of acting freely, or without necessity or constraint upon the will; Free′-ag′ent; Free′-and-eas′y, a kind of public-house club where good fellows gather to smoke and sing; Free′-bench, a widow's right to dower out of her husband's lands, so long as unmarried and chaste; Free′-board, the space between a vessel's line of flotation and the upper side of the deck; Free′booter (Dut. vrijbuiter), one who roves about freely in search of booty: a plunderer; Free′bootery.—adj. Free′booting, acting the part of a freebooter: robbing.—n. the practice of a freebooter: robbery, pillage.—n. Free′booty.—adj. Free′born, born of free parents.—ns. Free′-cit′y, a city having independent government; Free′-cost, freedom from charges; Freed′man, a man who has been a slave, and has been freed or set free; Free′dom, liberty: frankness: separation: privileges connected with a city: improper familiarity: license; Free′-fish′er, one who has a right to take fish in certain waters.—adjs. Free-foot′ed (Shak.) not restrained in movement; Free′-hand, applied to drawing by the unguided hand; Free′-hand′ed, open-handed: liberal; Free′-heart′ed, open-hearted: liberal.—ns. Free′-heart′edness, liberality: frankness; Free′hold, a property held free of duty except to the king; Free′holder, one who possesses a freehold; Free′-lā′bour, voluntary, not slave, labour; Free′-lance, one of certain roving companies of knights and men-at-arms, who after the Crusades wandered about Europe, selling their services to any one; Free′-liv′er, one who freely indulges his appetite for eating and drinking: a glutton; Free′-love, the claim to freedom in sexual relations, unshackled by marriage or obligation to aliment.—adv. Free′ly.—ns. Free′man, a man who is free or enjoys liberty: one who holds a particular franchise or privilege:—pl. Free′men; Free′māson, one of a secret society of so-called speculative masons, united in lodges for social enjoyment and mutual assistance, and laying dubious claim to a connection with the medieval organisations of free operative masons.—adj. Freemason′ic.—n. Freemā′sonry, the institutions, practices, &c. of Freemasons.—adj. Free′-mind′ed, with a mind free or unperplexed: without a load of care.—ns. Free′ness; Free′-port, a port where no duties are levied on articles of commerce; Free′-school, a school where no tuition fees are exacted; Free′-shot (Ger. Freischütz), the name given to a legendary hunter and marksman who gets a number of bullets (Freikugeln) from the devil, six of which always hit the mark, while the seventh is at the disposal of the devil himself.—adjs. Free′-soil, in favour of free territory, opposed to slavery; Free′-spōk′en, accustomed to speak without reserve.—ns. Free′-spōk′enness; Free′stone, an easily quarried stone composed of sand or grit.—adj. having a stone from which the pulp easily separates, as a peach—opp. to Clingstone.—adj. Free′-swim′ming, swimming freely, as an aquatic animal.—ns. Free′thinker, one who professes to be free from conventional authority in religion: a rationalist; Free′thinking, Free′-thought, the habit of mind of a freethinker.—adj. Free′-tongued, free-spoken.—ns. Free′-trade, free or unrestricted trade: free interchange of commodities without protective duties; Free′-trad′er, one who practises or advocates this; Free′-will, freedom of the will from restraint: liberty of choice: power of self-determination.—adj. spontaneous.—Free-cell formation, the formation of several cells from and in the protoplasm of the mother-cell; Free Church, that branch of the Presbyterians in Scotland which left the Established Church in the Disruption of 1843, finding spiritual independence impossible within it: a church whose sittings are open to all: (pl.) a term often applied to the Nonconformist churches generally; Free list, the list of persons admitted without payment to a theatre, &c., or of those to whom a book, &c., is sent; Free on board (F.O.B.), a phrase meaning that goods are to be delivered on the vessel or other conveyance without charge.—Free States, in America, before the Civil War of 1861-65, those of the United States in which slavery did not exist, as opposed to Slave States.—Make free with, to take undue liberties with. [A.S. freo; Ger. frei, Ice. frí.]
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
free
A vessel is said to be going free when the bowlines are slacked and the sheets eased; beyond this is termed large. (See SAILING LARGE.)
Editors Contribution
free
To give or share from our heart.
Some people like to grow food in their garden and put it on the road in baskets to share for free with others, they get joy from growing it and knowing that people get joy from receiving it.
Submitted by MaryC on January 26, 2017
free
To grant freedom to.
We know the joy that comes when people are free.
Submitted by MaryC on June 16, 2020
Suggested Resources
free
Song lyrics by free -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by free on the Lyrics.com website.
FREE
What does FREE stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the FREE acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Entomology
Free
unrestricted in movement: not firmly joined with or united to any other part: said of pupae when all the parts and appendages are separately encased as in Coleopteran.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
FREE
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Free is ranked #3586 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Free surname appeared 9,923 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 would have the surname Free.
86.8% or 8,615 total occurrences were White.
7.9% or 784 total occurrences were Black.
1.7% or 176 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
1.5% or 152 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
1.5% or 152 total occurrences were of two or more races.
0.4% or 44 total occurrences were Asian.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'free' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #459
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'free' in Written Corpus Frequency: #729
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'free' in Verbs Frequency: #664
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'free' in Adjectives Frequency: #49
Anagrams for free »
fere
reef
feer
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of free in Chaldean Numerology is: 2
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of free in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of free in a Sentence
When you dig into those patients, what you see is that they're all severely chronically ill patients, vaccination is not an entirely 'Get out of Jail Free' card. It makes things a lot better, but it doesn't make it go away.
Our business is at an inflection point. We can continue down the path we've been on for several years now, or we can make the significant and difficult changes necessary to get back on the right track, our revitalization plan is designed to streamline the company, move faster, and free up resources to invest in our brands and our capabilities.
Seek happiness and you will find unhappiness. There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path. Happiness is a state of mind. A state of surrender to and acceptance of what is. Reality experienced through presence. We cannot live in the future nor the past, but we can choose to be held prisoner. To be set free we must move into this moment. This moment is all that exists and all that will ever exist. If we choose not to be happy now, Then When?
Trade agreements should not be titled ‘free trade’ when parties can violate provisions without repercussions.
These vaccinations are free and available everywhere, if you do not wish to receive a vaccine, that is your decision. But don’t order a counterfeit, waste my officers' time, break the law, and misrepresent yourself.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for free
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
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