frees

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of free.

   The rescue team frees animals tangled in old fishing lines along the coast.

   Automation frees the staff from the most repetitive parts of the job.

   Note

   Every verb sense of free travels in this form, and all of them want an object. Most often a from-phrase follows, naming what confines: the new system frees nurses from paperwork. Programmers use the same verb for handing allocated memory back to the system, as in the routine frees the buffer once it is done. Because the verb is transitive, frees nearly always has something after it.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of free.

   He converted every one of his frees, including two from long range.

   A string of soft frees against the defense decided the match.

   Note

   In match talk the noun is shorthand: frees are free kicks, the restarts given to the non-offending side after a foul and taken from where it happened. Players convert or miss frees, and referees award them, sometimes cheaply (soft frees). The same clipped noun can also mean free transfers, or informally freestyle, so the sport in question decides which one is meant.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2