1Not under the control or in the power of another; able to act or be done as one wishes.

1. 1.1with infinitive Able or permitted to take a specified action.
   you are free to leave

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He set me free to roam the muddy thoroughfares of the city.
   • The two sister ships had been temporarily bound together so that the crew was free to go back and forth.
   • Member states are free to choose their own design on the other side of the card.
   • Visitors are free to wander round most of the rooms since there are no conducted tours.
   • Under EU rules, a citizen of a member state is free to travel and work in any other.
   • Each side states its case with little fanfare, and all the members of the tribunal are free to ask questions.
   • One of the demands of democratic elections is that voters are free to choose candidates they will to elect.
   • When states are free to develop their own programs, the results speak for themselves.
   • The agreement means that Tralee Town Council is free to develop its portion of the car park if needed.
   • He does not judge them, leaving the reader free to do so.
   • If you don't like something about the story, please fell free to tell me.
   • If Riley wants to develop open space by more than his allotment, he would be free to buy more development permits on the open market.
   • Furthermore, member states are free to accept or reject international standards.
   • I can't think of a verdict for such a unique creation, so the defendants are free to go.
   • Lord Prosser's recent retirement has left him free to air his opinions.
   • Banks are now free to charge interest on overdue bills as they wish to.
   • I've bought the CD, it belongs to me, I'm free to sell it on, throw it out, or give it away.
   • Once I found them, I would set that inner rage free to do its bidding.
   • They are free to move and do not need an work permit.
   • We tended her three children, leaving the widow free to do other things.

   Synonyms

   able to, in a position to, capable of
2. 1.2 (of a state or its citizens or institutions) subject neither to foreign domination nor to despotic government.
   a free press

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It is not the role of the media in an open and free society, to suppress horror that is going on in our society because it might offend.
   • In a free government the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights.
   • Just ask: was the government of this state chosen in free and fair elections?
   • Control of the arts by government is a Soviet ambition and, as such, should strenuously be resisted in a free society.
   • Ideas and the right to criticise them are the litmus test of a free society.
   • We have to remind every free citizen of this world about our lack of freedom.
   • An open and free media can play an important role in the fight against poverty.
   • In free governments, the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns.
   • The pursuit of pleasure must be seen as a personal matter of the free citizen.
   • At that time, we wanted freedom to travel abroad, democracy and free elections.
   • The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government.
   • Can violence play a valid role in the political system of a free society?
   • The free citizens of Hodge Hill bettered that: only 37 per cent bothered to vote.
   • But a free society permits the giving of offence; indeed, it is one of the hallmarks of just such freedom.
   • Free political activity and a free media is also necessary for this aid to be effective.
   • Even free nations have been forced to re-examine the nature of their commitment to freedom.
   • So, as we pursue prosperity in a free, diverse and open Asia, what are the specific challenges that face us?
   • Levying that kind of money from free citizens of New Zealand is a serious business.
   • It has been said that a free press is more valuable than an elected legislature.
   • Accountability is a fairly important element in both a free press and a democracy.

   Synonyms

   independent, self-governing, self-governed, self-ruling, self-legislating, self-determining, self-directing, non-aligned, sovereign, autonomous, autarkic, democratic, emancipated, enfranchised
3. 1.3historical Not a slave.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Laurium was one area of Attica where slaves probably outnumbered the free population.
   • Both free Blacks and slaves wanted to fight in the Civil War and volunteered from the start.
   • The slave or free status of children was determined by the status of their mother.
   • At the western end is the old burial ground for slaves and free blacks.
   • He fought to grant legal recognition to the marriages of slaves and free people of color.
4. 1.4in names Denoting an ethnic or political group actively opposing an occupying or invading force, in particular the groups that continued resisting the Germans in World War II after the fall of their countries.
   See also Free French

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He was picked up by the free French and was dressed up as a mute Belgian Farmer.
   • The one thing which these rebels did have was an awareness of their legacy as free Americans.
   • He is the son of a Free Polish Army soldier who escaped the Nazis in his homeland and made a precarious trek to England to continue the fight.

2often as complement Not or no longer confined or imprisoned.

1. 2.1 Not physically restrained, obstructed, or fixed; unimpeded.
   she smiled, leaned back, and waved a free arm in the air

   she lifted the cat free

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Cheska quickly gripped her fathers hands trying to pull herself free of his grip, but to no avail.
   • The ship later came free with the rising tide and anchored in Belgian waters for a damage inspection.
   • And then he wrenched himself free from my grasp and shut his eyes.
   • With a hardy tug that caused me to fall over it came free, releasing Kage at last.
   • He beat on the man's muscular arm, trying to pull himself free as the man opened up the door.
   • It turned out that there was a short-circuit when a bolt rattled free and connected with the carbon of the boat.
   • He decided to make a citizen's arrest but she struggled free with the help of two women accomplices.
   • His arm slipped free from its confines and he waved it to get someone's attention.
   • One of the guys was about to cut it free with the machete and all of a sudden it ripped and the boom clattered down.
   • He squirmed and wiggled free of her grip and began exploring the corners of her bed.
   • He struggled to get free but couldn't resist the amount of strength pulling him back.
   • Could we ever break free from these shackles of social insensitivity and ignorance?
   • She pulled at the knife with all of her strength and pulled it free, falling back from the force.
   • They were clamouring to get out but didn't have the strength to force themselves free.
   • It hadn't been opened in years, and she had to use all of her strength pry it free with a loud cracking sound.
   • A lock of his thin blond hair fell free from under his helmet, dangling on his high forehead.
   • Angie braced herself for a fight but was able to yank her hand free with relative ease.
   • He had to hack himself free with a knife and fell 40 feet, knocking himself out.
   • Violet shrieked, desperately trying to wrench her arm free from his grasp.
   • He is not clean, she thought as she wrenched herself free from his grasp.

   Synonyms

   unobstructed, unimpeded, unrestricted, unhampered, unlimited, clear, open, unblocked

   unattached, unfastened, unsecured, unhitched, untied, uncoupled, not fixed, detached, loose
2. 2.2Physics (of power or energy) disengaged or available.
   See also free energy

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He interpreted free heat as the kinetic energy of the particles of the body.
   • But as there is no magnetic equivalent of the free electron, this is intuitively impossible.
   • In a strong electric field, free electrons can be accelerated onto its inner surface.
   • These free electrons can then tunnel through a thin oxide layer on top of the niobium where they are detected as excess current.
   • As the electrons are free to move they do so until they find positions where they feel no net force.
3. 2.3Chemistry Physics Not bound in an atom, a molecule, or a compound.
   the atmosphere of that time contained virtually no free oxygen

   See also free radical

   Example sentencesExamples

   • We accept the fact that agents such as free radicals can influence cell function.
   • Some of the molecules break up and release free acids and other compounds which give the oil a rancid taste.
   • What is left behind is not only very strong, but also contains very little free mercury.
   • The free oxygen then burnt with the graphite core, which then reacted with the hydrogen.
   • An appreciable amount of carbon dioxide, unlike oxygen, is also free in solution in the plasma.
4. 2.4Linguistics (of a morpheme) able to occur in isolation.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • In Swedish, the indefinite article is a free morpheme, whereas the definite article is a suffix to the noun.
   • In other words, the domains in which a pronominal must be free are much more restricted than those in which an anaphor can be bound.
   • Bound morphemes have to be attached to a free morpheme, and so cannot be words in their own right.

3Not subject to or constrained by engagements or obligations.

1. 3.1 (of a facility or piece of equipment) not occupied or in use.
   the bathroom was free

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He recently overheard two children in one of the palace's galleries saying to one another that maybe one of the workstations was free now and they could go back to it.
   • I often found it difficult to find a free changing room.
   • Every time an intensive care cot became free it was found that a baby other than Mrs Walker's son needed the operation more urgently.
   • As soon as the bathroom's free I'm having a long hot soak!

   Synonyms

   vacant, empty, available, spare, unoccupied, untaken, unfilled, unused, not in use

4free of/frompredicative Not subject to or affected by (a specified thing, typically an undesirable one)

5Given or available without charge.

6Using or expending something without restraint; lavish.

1. 6.1 Frank or unrestrained in speech, expression, or action.
   he was free in his talk of revolution

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The argument is that this will stifle free and frank discussion.
   • He is an impulsive man, very free in his talk.
   • It is perhaps this faith, that has enabled her to be so free in her art so there are always new ideas, new approaches.
   • Mrs S and I enjoy nothing more than a free and frank exchange of views.
   • He is someone who doesn't live by any rules and you can clearly see that he's very free in his approach.

   Synonyms

   easy-going, free and easy, tolerant, liberal, permissive, indulgent, relaxed, casual, informal, unceremonious, unforced, natural, open, frank, spontaneous, uninhibited, artless, ingenuous
2. 6.2archaic Overfamiliar or forward in manner.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • She spoke and listened to much free talk, such as one never would have thought the lips or ears of Rachel Castlewood’s daughter would have uttered or heard.
   • We've all become very free with each other, a bit too free.
   • Let's just say he's rather free with his hands, if you know what I mean.

   Synonyms

   impudent, impertinent, disrespectful

7(of a literary style) not observing the strict laws of form.

1. 7.1 (of a translation) conveying only the broad sense; not literal.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • When he translates, he does so in a free and racy style which at first surprises and then pleases.
   • These are themes which we are now very familiar with - and the production, with its very colloquial and rather free translation of the original, emphasises them too much in its wish to make the play ‘relevant’ to our times.
   • He also published occasional verses, satires, and a free translation from Virgil.

   Synonyms

   flexible, broad, loose, rough, non-restrictive, general, non-literal, non-specific, not literal, not strict, not close

8Sailing
(of the wind) blowing from a favorable direction to the side or stern of a vessel.

1Without cost or payment.

2Sailing
With the sheets eased.

1Release from captivity, confinement, or slavery.

1. 1.1 Release from physical obstruction, restraint, or entanglement.
   I had to tug hard and at last freed him

   Example sentencesExamples

   • An unconscious man was freed from his wrecked car but was pronounced dead just over 30 minutes later at Leeds General Infirmary, from internal injuries.
   • The motorway was closed as rescuers battled to free casualties from the twisted wreckage of the coach.
   • The powerful one frees himself and unties the bonds of everyone else.
   • They used hydraulic lifting gear to free the car which was wedged under the driver's cabin of the bus and it was two hours before the woman's body could be freed from the wreckage.
   • Two tugs from Clyde coastguards tried unsuccessfully to pull the vessel clear and it was freed the next day on the early morning tide.
   • He was eventually freed by firefighters and suffered only minor injuries.
   • Passers-by came to the guard's aid and freed him from his restraints.
   • After three hours the couple were freed by firemen who rescued them from a window.
   • It took a crew from the Farnworth station an hour to rip up floorboards and remove the bath to free the kitten.
   • I was once on a TV programme with an escapologist who freed himself from a sack bound with chains.
   • Her hands flailed wildly, searching for anything to help her free herself from his grip.
   • The inquest heard that after he was freed from the wreckage by firefighters he was airlifted to the Royal United Hospital in Bath but died soon after arrival.
   • A mark of the confusion attending the rescue operation came when it was widely reported that five firefighters, trapped for two days in the rubble, had been freed from their concrete tomb.
   • The outside lane of the northbound carriageway was temporarily closed while the man was freed from the vehicle, causing a two mile tailback.
   • The two other occupants, sitting in the front and rear passenger side seats, were quickly freed after firefighters removed two doors.
   • He frees his right arm with a jerk.
   • The man was freed from the scaffolding by 4pm and was today recovering in hospital.
   • Mrs Welsh was trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed by firefighters.
   • She was freed from her car and rushed to Worcester Royal Infirmary but paramedics and hospital staff were unable to save her.
   • They were at the scene for 90 minutes, helping to free the victims and clear the road.

   Synonyms

   extricate, extract, disentangle, disentwine, disengage, disencumber, loosen, release, remove, get out, pull out, pull free, get loose, get free
2. 1.2 Remove something undesirable or restrictive from.
   his inheritance freed him from financial constraints

   free your mind and body of excess tension

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Performance responds to this dilemma by unlocking the restraints of self identity and freeing students to explore a variety of knowledge claims.
   • He came to free people, to liberate their minds and hearts from all that bound them.
   • Since Arnott is now freed from the constraints of teaching university students, expect more delight from this accomplished sculptor.
   • For just a moment, she sounds like a true-born radical, a daughter of the liberation fighters who freed much of Africa from colonialism when she was a child.
   • Already the move, which frees the club from restrictive rules, has paid dividends, explained Mr Collins.
   • The Internet frees us from the pesky constraints of our physical bodies.
   • Therefore people should be freed from the bondage of religious superstition and empowered to overthrow their leaders.
   • They must be freed from the shackles of theories.
   • The office-bearers have also promised to sustain the movement till the country is freed from the clutches of corruption.
   • The event was staged to celebrate the Locomotives on Highways Act, freeing the motorist from the restrictive four miles an hour speed limit.
   • More and more, corporations are freed of the restrictions imposed on them by former regimes.
   • Diabetics could have their lives dramatically transformed by a new approach, developed in Yorkshire, freeing them of restrictions on their diet.
   • Futurist and functionalist discourses displayed the aeroplane as the emancipation of man, freeing him from earthbound limitations.
   • Would my partner and I be freed from the tyranny of having to rise early to provide a nutritious packed lunch for our daughter?
   • Therefore older women will be freed from the constraint of declining ovarian egg releases.
   • When they become guerrillas the women set themselves free from patriarchal bonds.
   • The FCC is, in effect, holding out the possibility of freeing the networks from restrictions on buying up more stations.
   • A future in which succeeding generations are freed from the need to spawn wealth anew can allow children, and grandchildren, to lead lives on a higher plane.
   • Once she was freed from the contractual bondage in December 2001, there was no stopping this beauty.
   • Online life can be quite liberating in the way it frees you from your physicality and lets you become something else…

   Synonyms

   exempt, make exempt, except, excuse, absolve
3. 1.3 Make available for a particular purpose.
   this will free up funds for development elsewhere

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Supporters believe that this will free up resources to care for the environment and to ensure social progress.
   • The primary purpose of the serviced land initiative is to free up land for development.
   • This frees up the helicopters to work only in the areas flooded too deep for any sort of wheeled vehicle, even ones with as high a draft as a garbage trick, to get into.
   • A budget checks frivolous spending, helps you see where your money goes and frees up cash for retirement savings.
   • Such relief frees up resources, which a government can then devote to aid and reconstruction - or divert to anything else.
   • This frees up a tremendous amount of floor space to leave room for other needed processes.
   • Staff are then freed up to focus on other, potentially revenue-generating issues.
   • That frees up general revenue funds which could go to propping up Social Security down the road.
   • A 1970s shopping mall in the middle of the estate could also be flattened to free up more land for homes.
   • That frees up capital for investments in new technology and industries here.
   • In the process, space alongside the line once occupied by cartons of assembly parts has been freed for other purposes.
   • They can lower your monthly mortgage payments, freeing up cash for other purposes.
   • This would free up time for doctors to deal with more serious things.
   • Reviewing the other drawers, I realized that two could be combined, which freed up a drawer for the jewelry.
   • It would free up a lot of time for him to get on with the rest of his life.
   • The proposed new sixth form block is designed to free up classroom space for the new intake.
   • Reining in your spending should free up money that you can use to pay off your credit cards and car loan.
   • The pace of consumer spending should quicken this summer, as tax relief frees up household income, even while the labor markets are slow to recover.
   • That frees up additional money to invest in bonds.
   • The changes freed up space in the operating room and also increased market share.