free

/fri/

/fri/

Other forms: freed; freer; freeing; freest; frees

Something that costs nothing is free. We can also say that someone is free of pain, which means they have none.

This word has many meanings. On Mondays, admission to some museums is free — there's no charge. Often, people say the best things in life are free, usually meaning love and friendship. We live in a free country, which means we have a lot of rights and freedoms, such as freedom of the press. The word has a similar meaning when we say a prisoner goes free, or philosophers talk about free will: the belief that we make our own decisions, not ones forced on us by society, culture, or a higher power.

Definitions of free

1. adjective

   able to act at will; not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint
   “free enterprise”

   “a free port”

   “a free country”

   “I have an hour free”

   “free will”

   “free of racism”

   “feel free to stay as long as you wish”

   “a free choice”

   synonyms:

   unbound

   not restrained or tied down by bonds

   unconfined

   not confined

   independent

   free from external control and constraint

   at large, escaped, loose, on the loose

   having escaped, especially from confinement

   autonomous, independent, self-governing, sovereign

   (of political bodies) not controlled by outside forces

   available, uncommitted

   not busy; not otherwise committed

   atrip, aweigh

   (of an anchor) just clear of the bottom

   clear

   free from contact or proximity or connection

   emancipated, liberated

   free from traditional social restraints

   footloose

   free to go or do as one pleases

   out-of-school

   not attending school and therefore free to work

   unconfined, unimprisoned

   free from confinement or physical restraint

   unconstrained

   free from constraint

   unhampered

   not held in check or subject to control

   unrestricted

   free of restrictions on conduct

   unrestrained

   not subject to restraint

   unrestricted

   not subject to or subjected to restriction

   antonyms:

   unfree

   hampered and not free; not able to act at will

   bound

   confined by bonds

   confined

   not free to move about

   dependent

   relying on or requiring a person or thing for support, supply, or what is needed

   adscript, adscripted

   (used of persons) bound to a tract of land; hence their service is transferable from owner to owner

   apprenticed, articled, bound, indentured

   bound or forced by contract

   at bay, cornered, trapped, treed

   forced to turn and face attackers

   captive, confined, imprisoned, jailed

   being in captivity

   entangled

   involved in difficulties

   nonautonomous, nonsovereign

   (of peoples and political bodies) controlled by outside forces

   prisonlike

   resembling a prison

   serflike

   like someone in servitude

   restricted

   subject to restriction or subjected to restriction
2. adjective

   not held in servitude
   “after the Civil War he was a free man”

   synonyms:

   freeborn

   born free of free parents

   free-soil, non-slave, slaveless

   where slavery was prohibited

   antonyms:

   unfree

   held in servitude

   unfree

   hampered and not free; not able to act at will

   servile

   relating to or involving slaves or appropriate for slaves or servants

   slaveholding

   allowing slavery
3. adjective

   not literal
   “a free translation of the poem”

   synonyms: liberal, loose

   inexact

   not exact
4. adverb

   without restraint
   synonyms: loose
5. verb

   grant freedom to; free from confinement
   synonyms: liberate, loose, release, unloose, unloosen

   antonyms:

   confine

   deprive of freedom; take into confinement

   types:

   unspell

   release from a spell

   unchain

   make free

   bail

   release after a security has been paid

   run

   set animals loose to graze

   bail out

   free on bail

   parole

   release a criminal from detention and place him on parole
6. verb

   make (assets) available
   synonyms: release, unblock, unfreeze

   type of:

   issue, supply

   circulate or distribute or equip with
7. verb

   make (information) available for publication
   synonyms: release

   types:

   declassify

   lift the restriction on and make available again

   type of:

   issue, supply

   circulate or distribute or equip with
8. verb

   relieve from
   synonyms: disembarrass, rid

   types:

   cleanse

   purge of an ideology, bad thoughts, or sins

   relieve

   free from a burden, evil, or distress

   smooth, smooth out

   free from obstructions

   clear

   clear from impurities, blemishes, pollution, etc.

   disinfest

   rid of vermin

   disembody

   free from a body or physical form or reality

   denazify

   free from Nazi ideology or detach from Nazi allegiance
9. verb

   let off the hook
   synonyms: absolve, justify

   types:

   excuse, exempt, let off, relieve

   grant exemption or release to

   wash one's hands

   to absolve oneself of responsibility or future blame

   frank

   exempt by means of an official pass or letter, as from customs or other checks

   type of:

   forgive

   stop blaming or grant forgiveness
10. verb

    grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to
    synonyms: exempt, relieve

    types:

    derestrict

    make free from restrictions

    deregulate

    lift the regulations on

    dispense

    grant a dispensation; grant an exemption

    forgive

    absolve from payment

    spare

    save or relieve from an experience or action
11. verb

    part with a possession or right
    synonyms: give up, release, relinquish, resign

    types:

    derequisition

    release from government control

    give, sacrifice

    endure the loss of

    type of:

    give, hand, hand in, pass, pass on, reach, turn over

    place into the hands or custody of
12. noun

    people who are free
    “the home of the free and the brave”

    synonyms: free people

    type of:

    people

    (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
13. adjective

    not fixed in position
    “he pulled his arm free and ran”

    synonyms: detached

    unfixed

    not firmly placed or set or fastened
14. adjective

    unconstrained or not chemically bound in a molecule or not fixed and capable of relatively unrestricted motion
    “free expansion”

    “free oxygen”

    “a free electron”

    synonyms:

    liberated

    (of a gas e.g.) released from chemical combination

    unbound

    not held in chemical or physical combination

    antonyms:

    bound

    held with another element, substance or material in chemical or physical union

    conjugate, conjugated

    of an organic compound; containing two or more double bonds each separated from the other by a single bond

    conjugate, conjugated

    formed by the union of two compounds
15. verb

    remove or force out from a position
    “He finally could free the legs of the earthquake victim who was buried in the rubble”

    synonyms: dislodge

    type of:

    remove, take, take away, withdraw

    remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
16. verb

    release (gas or energy) as a result of a chemical reaction or physical decomposition
    synonyms: liberate, release

    type of:

    bring forth, generate

    bring into existence
17. adjective

    costing nothing
    “free admission”

    synonyms: complimentary, costless, gratis, gratuitous

    unpaid

    not paid
18. adjective

    not occupied or in use
    “a free locker”

    “a free lane”

    synonyms:

    unoccupied

    not held or filled or in use
19. adjective

    not taken up by scheduled activities
    “a free hour between classes”

    synonyms: spare

    unoccupied

    not held or filled or in use
20. verb

    free or remove obstruction from
    “free a path across the cluttered floor”

    synonyms: disengage

    antonyms:

    obstruct

    block passage through

    types:

    dig out

    dig out from underneath earth or snow

    unclog

    become or cause to become unobstructed

    loosen up, unstuff

    cause to become unblocked

    disencumber, disentangle, extricate, untangle

    release from entanglement or difficulty

    unblock

    clear or remove an obstruction from
21. verb

    free from obligations or duties
    synonyms: discharge

    types:

    disinvest, divest

    deprive of status or authority

    relieve, take over

    free someone temporarily from his or her obligations

    cut

    discharge from a group

    clear

    free from payment of customs duties, as of a shipment

    cashier

    discharge with dishonor, as in the army

    liberate, set free

    grant freedom to

    disembroil, disentangle, disinvolve

    free from involvement or entanglement

    dethrone

    remove a monarch from the throne

    spell

    relieve (someone) from work by taking a turn

    defrock, unfrock

    remove from one's position in the church

    affranchise, enfranchise

    grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude

    emancipate, manumit

    free from slavery or servitude

    decolonise, decolonize

    grant independence to (a former colony)
22. adjective

    completely wanting or lacking
    synonyms: barren, destitute, devoid, innocent

    nonexistent

    not having existence or being or actuality