free

Less common meanings

11. 11
    generousadjective

    Generous or liberal in giving or spending.

    The old man was free with advice and stingy with everything else.

    She has always been free with her time, helping anyone who asks.

    UsagePattern: free with money, advice or praise. It turns critical when the thing is not yours: free with other people's secrets.

    Similargenerous, liberal, lavish, unstinting, open-handed

    Oppositestingy, mean, miserly, sparing

    Note

    When the gift is one's own, the phrase is neutral or warm. It turns critical when the giving is excessive or the thing was never theirs to give.

12. 12
    open to alladjective

    Open to all; able to be used or enjoyed by anyone without restriction.

    The path along the river is free to everyone, not only to the families who live beside it.

    The village well was free to every household.

    Similaropen, accessible, public, unrestricted

    Oppositerestricted, private, closed, exclusive

    Note

    Open to everyone is not quite the same as costing nothing. In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare's speaker asks whether the streets are not as free for him as for another man, and he means access, not price. A free school sits where the two ideas meet, open to all and charging nothing, which shows how easily this sense runs into the "no cost" meaning. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • In Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, a character asks whether the streets are as free for him as for another man, referring to access rather than price. folger.edu
13. 13
    democraticadjective

    Of a government or country, upholding individual rights and liberties; not authoritarian.

    Elections alone do not make a nation free.

    Journalists in free societies still face pressure from advertisers.

    UsageSet phrases: a free country, a free society, the free world. It's a free country defends doing as you like.

    Similarunfettered

    Oppositeauthoritarian, unfree, restricted

    Note

    Politics uses the word for countries, governments and societies, most familiarly in the Free World and a free society. Its opposites are authoritarian and the plainer unfree.

14. 14
    clear flowadjective

    Unobstructed and clear of blockages, so that movement or flow through it is not hindered.

    The pipe ran free again once the ice had melted.

    Firefighters need a free path to the hydrant.

    Similarclear, unobstructed

    Oppositeblocked, obstructed

15. 15
    foul restartnounabbreviation

    Short for free kick in Australian rules and Gaelic football, and for a free puck in hurling and camogie: an unopposed kick or strike awarded to a player, usually after a foul.

    A late free gave the visitors the chance to level the scores.

    The crowd howled at every free awarded to the home side.

    Note

    In each of these sports it is usually awarded for an opponent's foul, though in Gaelic football a clean catch, called a mark, can also earn one. In Australian rules a free after the siren can still produce a shot on goal, so a single decision can settle a close match. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

    • In Australian rules football, a free kick is normally awarded for an opponent's infringement. afl.com.au
    • In Gaelic football, a free kick is normally awarded following a foul. gaa.ie
    • In hurling, a free puck is normally awarded following a foul. dublingaa.ie
    • In camogie, a free is normally awarded following an opponent's foul. camogie.ie
    • A qualifying clean catch in Gaelic football earns a mark, which offers the option of a free kick. learning.gaa.ie
    • An Australian rules free kick can produce a goal after the siren and decide a match. afl.com.au
16. 16
    swimmingnouncolloquialabbreviation

    Abbreviation of freestyle, in swimming; informal.

    The team's best event is the 400 free relay.

    Coaches usually teach free before butterfly.

    Note

    Swimming shorthand, heard in event names such as the 200 free or the 400 free relay. Freestyle strictly means that any stroke is allowed, but swimmers choose the front crawl, so free has come to name that stroke too. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • In a freestyle event, swimmers may use any stroke. usms.org
    • Swimmers normally choose front crawl in freestyle races. activesgcircle.gov.sg
17. 17
    transfer (soccer)nouncountable

    In soccer, a free transfer: a player's move to another club without a transfer fee, usually at the end of a contract.

    He left the club on a free and signed a two-year deal elsewhere.

    Signing veterans on frees is how small clubs survive.

    UsageSet phrase: a player joins on a free.

    Note

    Soccer's shorthand for a free transfer: a player who leaves on a free moves without any transfer fee. Do not confuse it with the free kick, another noun hiding behind the same short form. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • A player moving on a free transfer changes clubs without a transfer fee. en.wikipedia.org
18. 18
    eager (horse)adjectivedated

    Of a horse or similar animal, ready and eager, moving willingly without spur or whip; spirited.

    He liked a free horse under him, one that answered the lightest touch.

    The old coachman said a free horse would ruin itself if you let it.

    Similarwilling, eager, spirited, keen

    Oppositesluggish, lazy, reluctant

    Note

    A horseman's word from an older English: a free horse goes forward willingly, without spur or whip. It applies the idea of being unconstrained to temperament, so the animal moves of its own will. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Free has a historical horse-related sense meaning eager and willing to move without spurring or whipping. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    admitted (old use)adjectivedated

    Admitted to the rights or privileges of a place or body; followed by 'of'.

    A craftsman who had served his time was made free of the guild.

    He therefore makes all birds, of every sect, / Free of his farm.

    1697, John Dryden, The Hind and the Panther

    Similarenfranchised

    Note

    Older English could make someone free of a place, and the phrase meant belonging, not escape. In John Dryden's The Hind and the Panther, the birds are made free of his farm and given its run. A craftsman made free of a guild joined it. Read old texts with care, because a modern ear hears the "without" meaning, being rid of something, where the writer meant admission. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Historically, being made free of a place could mean admission to its rights or privileges. freemen-few.org.uk
    • John Dryden wrote The Hind and the Panther. publish.uwo.ca
    • In The Hind and the Panther, birds are made 'Free of his farm' and granted privileges there. publish.uwo.ca
    • A craftsman made free of a guild became a member of it. freemen-few.org.uk
20. 20
    verb

    In programming, to return previously allocated memory to the system so that it can be reused.
21. 21
    adjective

    In law, held as a special or exclusive right; privileged or proprietary, as in 'a free fishery' or 'a free warren'.
22. 22
    adjective

    Describing an algebraic structure that is generic or universal in any of several technical senses.
23. 23
    adjective

    Of a rocket or missile, not controlled by a guidance system once launched; unguided.
24. 24
    adjective

    In linguistics, of a morpheme, able to stand alone as a word rather than needing to attach to another morpheme.
25. 25
    adjective

    In logic and programming, of a variable, not bound by a quantifier or by the expression or function in which it appears.
26. 26
    adjective

    Of a software build, intended for release and omitting debugging diagnostics, as opposed to a checked build.
27. 27
    adjectiveobsolete

    Not guilty of any wrongdoing or crime.

    My hands are guilty, but my heart is free.

    1679, John Dryden, Oedipus: A Tragedy
28. 28
    adjective

    In category theory, of an object built on a set, where each function from that set into another object extends uniquely to a morphism matching it through the canonical map.
29. 29
    adjective

    Of a group, generated by elements bound by no relations except those every group must satisfy.
30. 30
    adjective

    Of a module, possessing a basis, a generating set whose elements are linearly independent.
31. 31
    adjectiveobsoleteUK

    In old English law, of land tenure or services, fixed or honorable, as befits a freeman rather than a serf.
32. 32
    adverbobsolete

    Of one's own accord, without being forced.

    I as free forgive you / As I would be forgiven.

    c. 1601, William Shakespeare, Henry VIII