free-ridev.
/friːˈrʌɪd/, /ˈfriːrʌɪd/, U.S. /ˌfriˈraɪd/, /ˈfriˌraɪd/ 1. intransitive. To (seek to) benefit in some way from the effort, sacrifice, financial outlay, etc., of others without making a similar contribution. See free-riding n. 1b.
ΚΠ
1952 Austin (Minnesota) Daily Herald 30 June 10/2 Those who do not pay dues, he declared, are free riding.
1955 J. Cohen in Amer. Econ. Rev. 45 338 This resulted in nonbank holders ‘free-riding’ by selling issues to the commercial banks whose purchase the banks had originally financed.
1974 Jrnl. Philos. 71 498 One is free-riding by getting benefits without assuming the corresponding sacrifices.
1981 Jrnl. Consumer Res. 8 127/2 Exploitative misleadingness occurs when the ad does not increase, but free-rides on, an existing level of misleading belief.
1994 Sci. Amer. Mar. 60/2 Each individual can choose either to contribute to the common good or to shirk and ‘free ride’ on the sacrifices of others.
2001 High Country News 3 Dec. 1/2 [He] is free-riding, and it's not fair to others who are being more responsible.
2. intransitive. Sport (esp. in Snowboarding). Usually in form freeride. To participate in free-riding (free-riding n. 2). Also transitive.
ΚΠ
1991 Skiing Dec. 110/3 If you want to have fun and free-ride, this is the place to go.
1994 Fresno (Calif.) Bee (Nexis) 1 Dec. e1 You can halfpipe and freeride those snow-covered hills in street-style oversized clothes that offer the freedom you need and keep you warm, too.
1996 Wake Boarding Mag. Aug. 94/1 Normally known for his technical style, Kovak showed all that he's capable of freeriding with the best by just going insanely huge.
1999 SNOWboard Mar. 44/2 Just doing a trick or a line the first try when you're freeriding at a new spot is the best.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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v.1952