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Added 7 October 2026

free

/fɹiː/ adjective

Categories: Describing WordsEveryday Words

In Latin: līber Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about free at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Unconstrained.
    He was given free rein to do whatever he wanted.
  2. Not imprisoned or enslaved.
    Free Blacks
  3. Generous; liberal.
    He's very free with his money.

adverb

  1. Without needing to pay.
    I got this bike free.
  2. Freely; willingly.

verb

  1. To make free; set at liberty; release.
  2. To rid of something that confines or oppresses. .mw-parser-output .object-usage-tag{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output .deprecated{color:var(--wikt-palette-grey-lime-8,olivedrab)}[with from]
  3. To relinquish (previously allocated memory) to the system.

noun

  1. Abbreviation of free kick.
  2. A free transfer.
  3. The usual means of restarting play after a foul is committed, where the non-offending team restarts from where the foul was committed.

Origin

From Middle English fre, from Old English frēo, frēoh, frī, friġ, frīoh (“free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“beloved, not in bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“pleased, loved”), from *preyH- (“to please; to love”). Related to friend.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: unrestrictedunfetteredunconstrainedexemptunboundunchainedunfixedunconfinedfreebornunhamperedgratiscostless

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