free-wheelern.
/ˌfriːˈwiːlə/, U.S. /ˌfriˈ(h)wilər/ 1. A free-wheeled bicycle or motor vehicle.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > other types of bicycle
forty-four1821
roadster1875
rear-steerer1882
pneumatic1890
path-racer1896
featherweight1901
free-wheeler1908
fairy cycle1920
superbike1935
sit-up-and-beg1939
bakfiets1956
high-riser1965
all-terrain cycle1970
chopper1971
mountain bike1972
shopper1973
mixte1975
BMX1978
cruiser1978
ojek1983
boda boda1995
e-bike1998
fixie2001
ghost bike2004
1908 E. M. Sneyd-Kynnersley H.M.I. viii. 78 It was the first year of ‘free-wheelers’, and I merely slackened pace.
1931 Lincoln (Nebraska) Sunday Star 30 Aug. g8/4 The charging rate of the generator should be increased if the car is a ‘freewheeler’.
2006 G. K. Wolf & J. Baptiste in P. S. Allen Amityville House of Pancakes 3 9 Father Jack found them as rambling, incomprehensible and uninteresting as the assembly manual for his young nephew's free-wheeler quad cycle.
2. = free agent n. (a) at free adj., n., and adv. Compounds 2. Also: a free, unpredictable, or spontaneous person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [noun] > unplanned quality or action > one who
improviser1824
free-wheeler1938
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [noun] > one who acts freely
libertine1612
free agent1649
thelemite1656
unreserved1756
volent1768
unrestrained1770
free-wheeler1938
1938 Washington Post 17 Oct. 6/4 (cartoon caption) A Free Wheeler..No Political Alliances..No Patronage.
1996 D. McDonald Lord Strathcona x. 230 It suited the HBC to have a free-wheeler who was, at the same time, genuinely committed to the interests of the company.
2006 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 16 July 7 I am happier now than I was as a fun-seeking freewheeler.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1908