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free
[free] 
adjective, fre⋅er, fre⋅est, adverb, verb, freed, free⋅ing.–adjective
| 1. | enjoying personal rights or liberty, as a person who is not in slavery: a land of free people. |
| 2. | pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty: They were thankful to be living on free soil. |
| 3. | existing under, characterized by, or possessing civil and political liberties that are, as a rule, constitutionally guaranteed by representative government: the free nations of the world. |
| 4. | enjoying political autonomy, as a people or country not under foreign rule; independent. |
| 5. | exempt from external authority, interference, restriction, etc., as a person or one's will, thought, choice, action, etc.; independent; unrestricted. |
| 6. | able to do something at will; at liberty: free to choose. |
| 7. | clear of obstructions or obstacles, as a road or corridor: The highway is now free of fallen rock. |
| 8. | not occupied or in use: I'll try to phone her again if the line is free. |
| 9. | exempt or released from something specified that controls, restrains, burdens, etc. (usually fol. by from or of): free from worry; free of taxes. |
| 10. | having immunity or being safe (usually fol. by from): free from danger. |
| 11. | provided without, or not subject to, a charge or payment: free parking; a free sample. |
| 12. | given without consideration of a return or reward: a free offer of legal advice. |
| 13. | unimpeded, as motion or movement; easy, firm, or swift. |
| 14. | not held fast; loose; unattached: to get one's arm free. |
| 15. | not joined to or in contact with something else: The free end of the cantilever sagged. |
| 16. | acting without self-restraint or reserve: to be too free with one's tongue. |
| 17. | ready or generous in giving; liberal; lavish: to be free with one's advice. |
| 18. | given readily or in profusion; unstinted. |
| 19. | frank and open; unconstrained, unceremonious, or familiar. |
| 20. | unrestrained by decency; loose or licentious: free behavior. |
| 21. | not subject to special regulations, restrictions, duties, etc.: The ship was given free passage. |
| 22. | of, pertaining to, or characterized by free enterprise: a free economy. |
| 23. | that may be used by or is open to all: a free market. |
| 24. | engaged in by all present; general: a free fight. |
| 25. | not literal, as a translation, adaptation, or the like; loose. |
| 26. | uncombined chemically: free oxygen. |
| 27. | traveling without power; under no force except that of gravity or inertia: free flight. |
| 28. | Phonetics. (of a vowel) situated in an open syllable (opposed to checked ). |
| 29. | at liberty to enter and enjoy at will (usually fol. by of): to be free of a friend's house. |
| 30. | not subject to rules, set forms, etc.: The young students had an hour of free play between classes. |
| 31. | easily worked, as stone, land, etc. |
| 32. | Mathematics. (of a vector) having specified magnitude and direction but no specified initial point. Compare bound 1 (def. 9). |
| 33. | Also, large. Nautical. (of a wind) nearly on the quarter, so that a sailing vessel may sail free. |
| 34. | not containing a specified substance (often used in combination): a sugar-free soft drink. |
| 35. | (of a linguistic form) occurring as an independent construction, without necessary combination with other forms, as most words. Compare bound 1 (def. 11). |
| 36. | without cost, payment, or charge. |
–adverb
| 37. | in a free manner; freely. |
| 38. | Nautical. away from the wind, so that a sailing vessel need not be close-hauled: running free. |
–verb (used with object)
—Verb phrase| 39. | to make free; set at liberty; release from bondage, imprisonment, or restraint. |
| 40. | to exempt or deliver (usually fol. by from). |
| 41. | to relieve or rid (usually fol. by of): to free oneself of responsibility. |
| 42. | to disengage; clear (usually fol. by from or of). |
| 43. | free up,
|
| 44. | for free, Informal. without charge: The tailor mended my jacket for free. |
| 45. | free and clear, Law. without any encumbrance, as a lien or mortgage: They owned their house free and clear. |
| 46. | free and easy,
|
| 47. | make free with,
|
| 48. | set free, to release; liberate; free: The prisoners were set free. |
| 49. | with a free hand, generously; freely; openhandedly: He entertains visitors with a free hand. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To free
| free (frē) adj. fre·er, fre·est
[Middle English fre, from Old English frēo. V., from Middle English freen, from Old English frēon, to love, set free; see prī- in Indo-European roots.] free'ly adv., free'ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Free
Free\ (fr[=e]), a. [Compar. Freer (-[~e]r); superl. Freest (-[e^]st).] [OE. fre, freo, AS. fre['o], fr[=i]; akin to D. vrij, OS. & OHG. fr[=i], G. frei, Icel. fr[=i], Sw. & Dan. fri, Goth. freis, and also to Skr. prija beloved, dear, fr. pr[=i] to love, Goth. frij[=o]n. Cf. Affray, Belfry, Friday, Friend, Frith inclosure.]1. 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. That which has the power, or not the power, to operate, is that alone which is or is not free. --Locke. 2. 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. 3. Liberated, by arriving at a certain age, from the control of parents, guardian, or master. 4. Not confined or imprisoned; released from arrest; liberated; at liberty to go. Set an unhappy prisoner free. --Prior. 5. Not subjected to the laws of physical necessity; capable of voluntary activity; endowed with moral liberty; -- said of the will. Not free, what proof could they have given sincere Of true allegiance, constant faith, or love. --Milton. 6. Clear of offense or crime; guiltless; innocent. My hands are guilty, but my heart is free. --Dryden. 7. Unconstrained by timidity or distrust; unreserved; ingenuous; frank; familiar; communicative. He was free only with a few. --Milward. 8. Unrestrained; immoderate; lavish; licentious; -- used in a bad sense. The critics have been very free in their censures. --Felton. A man may live a free life as to wine or women. --Shelley. 9. Not close or parsimonious; liberal; open-handed; lavish; as, free with his money. 10. Exempt; clear; released; liberated; not encumbered or troubled with; as, free from pain; free from a burden; -- followed by from, or, rarely, by of. Princes declaring themselves free from the obligations of their treaties. --Bp. Burnet. 11. Characteristic of one acting without restraint; charming; easy. 12. Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited; as, a free horse. 13. Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; -- followed by of. He therefore makes all birds, of every sect, Free of his farm. --Dryden. 14. 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. Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as free For me as for you? --Shak. 15. Not gained by importunity or purchase; gratuitous; spontaneous; as, free admission; a free gift. 16. 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. 17. (O. Eng. Law) Certain or honorable; the opposite of base; as, free service; free socage. --Burrill. 18. (Law) Privileged or individual; the opposite of common; as, a free fishery; a free warren. --Burrill. 19. Not united or combined with anything else; separated; dissevered; unattached; at liberty to escape; as, free carbonic acid gas; free cells. Free agency, the capacity or power of choosing or acting freely, or without necessity or constraint upon the will. Free bench (Eng. Law), a widow's right in the copyhold lands of her husband, corresponding to dower in freeholds. Free board (Naut.), a vessel's side between water line and gunwale. Free bond (Chem.), an unsaturated or unemployed unit, or bond, of affinity or valence, of an atom or radical. Free-borough men (O.Eng. Law). See Friborg. Free chapel (Eccles.), a chapel not subject to the jurisdiction of the ordinary, having been founded by the king or by a subject specially authorized. [Eng.] --Bouvier. Free charge (Elec.), a charge of electricity in the free or statical condition; free electricity. Free church. (a) A church whose sittings are for all and without charge. (b) An ecclesiastical body that left the Church of Scotland, in 1843, to be free from control by the government in spiritual matters. Free city, or Free town, a city or town independent in its government and franchises, as formerly those of the Hanseatic league. Free cost, freedom from charges or expenses. --South. Free and easy, unconventional; unrestrained; regardless of formalities. [Colloq.] "Sal and her free and easy ways." --W. Black. Free goods, goods admitted into a country free of duty. Free labor, the labor of freemen, as distinguished from that of slaves. Free port. (Com.) (a) A port where goods may be received and shipped free of custom duty. (b) A port where goods of all kinds are received from ships of all nations at equal rates of duty. Free public house, in England, a tavern not belonging to a brewer, so that the landlord is free to brew his own beer or purchase where he chooses. --Simmonds. Free school. (a) A school to which pupils are admitted without discrimination and on an equal footing. (b) A school supported by general taxation, by endowmants, etc., where pupils pay nothing for tuition; a public school. Free services (O.Eng. Law), such feudal services as were not unbecoming the character of a soldier or a freemen to perform; as, to serve under his lord in war, to pay a sum of money, etc. --Burrill. Free ships, ships of neutral nations, which in time of war are free from capture even though carrying enemy's goods. Free socage (O.Eng. Law), a feudal tenure held by certain services which, though honorable, were not military. --Abbott. Free States, those of the United States before the Civil War, in which slavery had ceased to exist, or had never existed. Free stuff (Carp.), timber free from knots; clear stuff. Free thought, that which is thought independently of the authority of others. Free trade, commerce unrestricted by duties or tariff regulations. Free trader, one who believes in free trade. To make free with, to take liberties with; to help one's self to. [Colloq.] To sail free (Naut.), to sail with the yards not braced in as sharp as when sailing closehauled, or close to the wind.Free
Free\, adv. 1. Freely; willingly. [Obs.] I as free forgive you As I would be forgiven. --Shak. 2. Without charge; as, children admitted free.Free
Free\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Freed; p. pr. & vb. n. Freeing.] [OE. freen, freoien, AS. fre['o]gan. See Free, a.]1. 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. --Clarendon. Our land is from the rage of tigers freed. --Dryden. Arise, . . . free thy people from their yoke. --Milton. 2. To remove, as something that confines or bars; to relieve from the constraint of. This master key Frees every lock, and leads us to his person. --Dryden. 3. To frank. [Obs.] --Johnson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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free (adj.)
O.E. freo "free, exempt from, not in bondage," also "noble, joyful," from P.Gmc. *frijaz (cf. M.H.G. vri, Ger. frei, Du. vrij, Goth. freis "free"), from PIE *prijos "dear, beloved" (cf. Skt. priyah "own, dear, beloved," priyate "loves;" O.C.S. prijati "to help," prijatelji "friend;" Welsh rhydd "free"). The adv. is from O.E. freon, freogan "to free, love." The primary sense seems to have been "beloved, friend, to love;" which in some languages (notably Gmc. and Celtic) developed also a sense of "free," perhaps from the terms "beloved" or "friend" being applied to the free members of one's clan (as opposed to slaves, cf. L. liberi, meaning both "free" and "children"). Cf. Goth. frijon "to love;" O.E. freod "affection, friendship," friga "love," friðu "peace;" O.N. friðr, Ger. Friede "peace;" O.E. freo "wife;" O.N. Frigg "wife of Odin," lit. "beloved" or "loving;" M.L.G. vrien "to take to wife, Du. vrijen, Ger. freien "to woo." Sense of "given without cost" is 1585, from notion of "free of cost." Of nations, "not subject to foreign rule or to despotism," it is recorded from 1375. Freedman "manumitted slave" first recorded 1601. Colloquial freeloader first recorded 1930s; free fall is from 1919, originally of parachutists; free-hand is from 1862; free-thinker is from 1692. Freebie dates back to 1942 as freeby, perhaps as early as 1900. Free-for-all "mass brawl" (in which anyone may participate) first recorded 1881. Freebase (n. and v.) in ref. to cocaine first recorded 1980.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: free
Function: adjective
1 a : having the legal and political rights of a citizen
2 : made or done as a matter of choice and right : not compelled or restricted
3 : relieved from or lacking a burden (as a lien or other encumbrance on title) free of a security interest created by his seller —Uniform Commercial Code>
4 : not bound, confined, or detained by force <free on bail>
5 a : having no trade restrictions b : not subject to government regulation c of foreign exchange : not subject to restriction or official control
6 : not costing or charging anything —free·ly adverb —for free : without charge
Main Entry: free
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: freed; free·ing
1 : to cause to be free
2 : to relieve or rid of what constrains, confines, restricts, or burdens
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: free
Pronunciation: 'frE
Function: adjective
Inflected Forms: fre·er; fre·est
1 : not bound or confinedby force
2 a (1) : not united with, attached to, combined with, or mixedwith something else free surface of a bodily part> (2) : having the bare axon exposed in tissue free nerve ending> b : not chemically combined<free oxygen> <free acids> c : not permanently attached but able to move about free electron in a metal>
3 : having allliving connections severed before removal to another site free graft>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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free
See free software, free variable.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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free
In addition to the idioms beginning with free, also see breathe easy (freely); feel free; footloose and fancy-free; for free; get off (scot-free); home free; make free with; of one's own accord (free will).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
