Dictionary Definition
free adj
1 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" [ant:
unfree]
2 unconstrained or not chemically bound in a
molecule or not fixed and capable of relatively unrestricted
motion; "free expansion"; "free oxygen"; "a free electron" [ant:
bound]
4 not occupied or in use; "a free locker"; "a
free lane"
5 not fixed in position; "the detached shutter
fell on him"; "he pulled his arm free and ran" [syn: detached]
6 not held in servitude; "after the Civil War he
was a free man" [ant: slave(a)]
7 not taken up by scheduled activities; "a free
hour between classes"; "spare time on my hands" [syn: spare]
8 not literal; "a loose interpretation of what
she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem" [syn: loose, liberal] n : people who are
free; "the home of the free and the brave" [syn: free people]
adv : without restraint; "cows in India are running loose" [syn:
loose]
Verb
1 grant freedom to; free from confinement [syn:
liberate, release, unloose, unloosen, loose] [ant: confine]
2 relieve from; "Rid the the house of pests"
[syn: rid, disembarrass]
3 remove or force out from a position; "The
dentist dislodged the piece of food that had been stuck under my
gums"; "He finally could free the legs of the earthquake victim who
was buried in the rubble" [syn: dislodge] [ant: lodge]
4 grant relief or an exemption from a rule or
requirement to; "She exempted me from the exam" [syn: exempt, relieve] [ant: enforce]
5 make (information) available publication;
"release the list with the names of the prisoners" [syn: release]
6 free from obligations or duties [syn: discharge]
7 free or remove obstruction from; "free a path
across the cluttered floor" [syn: disengage] [ant: obstruct]
9 part with a possession or right; "I am
relinquishing my bedroom to the long-term house guest"; "resign a
claim to the throne" [syn: release, relinquish, resign, give up]
10 make (assets) available; "release the holdings
in the dictator's bank account" [syn: unblock, unfreeze, release] [ant: freeze, freeze] [also: freest, freer]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
fre < freo.Pronunciation
- /fɹiː/, /fri:/
-
- Rhymes with: -iː
Adjective
- Not imprisoned or
enslaved.
- a free man
- Obtainable without payment.
- All drinks are free
- Unconstrained.
- He was given free rein to do whatever he wanted
- The free group on three generators
- He was given free rein to do whatever he wanted
- Unobstructed, without blockages.
- the drain was free
- Without obligations.
- free time
- With very few limitations on distribution or improvement compared to proprietary software.
- To be released.
- We set the rabbit free
- Being absent from it.
- We had a wholesome, filling meal, free of meat
- Of identifiers, not bound.
- Not attached to the stipe.
- In this group of mushrooms, the gills are free.
Synonyms
- sense Obtainable without payment gratis
- sense Unobstructed libre
Antonyms
Translations
not imprisoned
- Albanian: lirë (i/e)
- Amharic: ነፃ
- Armenian: ազատ (azat)
- Bambara: hɔrɔn
- Catalan: lliure
- Chinese:
- Croatian: slobodan
- Czech: svobodný, volný
- Danish: fri
- Dutch: vrij, los
- Esperanto: libera
- Estonian: vaba, prii
- Finnish: vapaa
- French: libre
- German: frei, ungebunden
- Gothic: freis
- Greek: ελεύθερος (eléftheros)
- Hebrew:
- Hindi: आज़ाद (āzād)
- Hungarian: szabad
- Ido: libera
- Indonesian: bebas
- Interlingua: libere
- Irish: saor
- Italian: libero
- Japanese: 自由, jiyū}}
- Korean: 자유
- Kurdish:
- Latin: liber
- Latvian: brīvs
- Limburgish: vrie
- Lithuanian: laisvas
- Malayalam: സ്വതന്ത്രം (svathanthram)
- Norwegian: fri
- Novial: liberi
- Occitan: liure
- Old English: frēo, frēolic
- Persian: آزاد
- Polish: wolny
- Portuguese: livre
- Romanian: liber, slobod
- Russian: свободный, вольный
- Serbian: slobodan
- Sindhi: (āzād)
- Slovene: svoboden
- Spanish: libre
- Swahili: huru
- Swedish: fri
- Turkish: hür
- Ukrainian: вільний
- Urdu: آزاد
- West Frisian: frijlitten, frij
obtainable without payment
- Afrikaans: verniet, gratis
- Albanian: falas
- Amharic: ነፃ
- Armenian: անվճար (anvtshar)
- Bambara: gansan
- Catalan: de franc, gratuït, gratis
- Chinese:
- Croatian: besplatan
- Czech: zdarma, bezplatný, volný
- Danish: gratis, fri
- Dutch: gratis, kosteloos, kosteloze, verniet (Flanders)
- Esperanto: senkosta, senpaga
- Estonian: tasuta
- Finnish: ilmainen, maksuton
- French: gratuit, gratis
- German: umsonst, gratis, kostenlos
- Greek: δωρεάν
- Hebrew: ,
- Hungarian: szabad, ingyenes
- Ido: gratuita
- Indonesian: gratis, bebas biaya
- Interlingua: gratis, gratuite
- Italian: gratuito, gratis
- Japanese: 無料, muryō}}, ただ
- Korean: 무료, 공짜
- Kurdish:
- Latvian: bezmaksas
- Lithuanian: nemokamas
- Malay: gratis, percuma
- Malayalam: സൌജന്യം (soujanyam)
- Norwegian: gratis
- Polish: darmowy, bezpłatny
- Portuguese: grátis, gratuito
- Romanian: gratis, gratuit
- Russian: бесплатный
- Serbian: besplatno, džaba
- Sindhi:
- Slovene: zastonj
- Spanish: gratis
- Swahili: bure
- Swedish: gratis, fri, kostnadsfri
- Turkish: bedava
- Ukrainian: безкоштовний
- West Frisian: fergees, frij
unconstrained
- Albanian: pafre
- Amharic: ነፃ
- Armenian: առանց (arranc‛)
- Bambara: hɔrɔn
- Catalan: lliure
- Chinese:
- Croatian: neograničen, slobodan
- Czech: volný
- Danish: fri
- Dutch: vrij, los, loslopend
- Esperanto: libera
- Estonian: vaba, prii
- Finnish: vapaa, rajoittamaton
- French: libre
- German: frei
- Greek: ελεύθερος
- Hebrew:
- Ido: libera
- Interlingua: libere, franc
- Italian: libero
- Japanese: 自由, jiyū}}, 自発的, jihatsuteki}}
- Korean: 자유적
- Kurdish:
- Kurmanji: berdayî
- Sorani: سهربهست
- Kurmanji: berdayî
- Latin: līber
- Limburgish: vrie
- Norwegian: fri, løs
- Novial: liberi
- Old English: freo
- Polish: wolny
- Portuguese: livre and
- Romanian: liber, neîmpiedicat
- Russian: свободный
- Serbian: povoljno, voljno
- Sindhi: ;
- Spanish: libre
- Swedish: fri
- Turkish: serbest
unobstructed
- Albanian: lirë (i/e)
- Catalan: lliure
- Chinese:
- Croatian: slobodan, otvoren
- Czech: volný
- Dutch: vrij, vrije, open
- Esperanto: libera
- Estonian: piiramatu, takistamatu
- Finnish: auki (adverb), aukinainen, avoin, esteetön, selvä
- French: libre
- German: frei
- Greek: ελεύθερος (eléftheros)
- Hebrew:
- Ido: libera
- Interlingua: libere, franc
- Italian: libero
- Japanese: そのまま
- Korean: 막힘
- Kurdish:
- Limburgish: vrie
- Norwegian: åpen, fri
- Novial: liberi
- Polish: wolny
- Portuguese: livre
- Romanian: liber, neîmpiedicat
- Russian: беспрепятственный, свободный
- Sindhi: ;
- Slovene: prost
- Spanish: libre
- Turkish: engellenmemiş
without obligations
- Albanian: pazënë (i/e)
- Bambara: hɔrɔn
- Catalan: liure
- Chinese:
- Croatian: slobodan
- Czech: volný
- Danish: fri
- Dutch: vrij, ongedwongen
- Esperanto: libera
- Estonian: vaba
- Finnish: vapaa
- French: libre
- German: frei
- Greek: ελεύθερος, απαλλαγμένος (free from)
- Hebrew: ,
- Hungarian: szabad
- Ido: libera
- Interlingua: libere
- Italian: libero
- Japanese: 自由, jiyū}}, 勝手, katte}}
- Korean: 자의
- Kurdish:
- Limburgish: vrie
- Norwegian: fri, ledig
- Novial: liberi
- Old English: freo
- Polish: wolny
- Portuguese: livre
- Romanian: liber
- Russian: свободный
- Serbian: bezobavezno
- Sindhi: ;
- Slovenian: prost
- Spanish: libre
- Swedish: fri
- Turkish: serbest
of software, guaranteeing freedom to users and
developers
- Albanian: lejuar (i/e)
- Bambara: hɔrɔn
- Catalan: lliure
- Chinese:
- Croatian: slobodan
- Danish: fri
- Dutch: vrij, vrije
- Esperanto: libera
- Estonian: vaba
- Finnish: ilmainen, ilmais-, avoin
- French: libre
- German: frei
- Greek: ελεύθερος (eléftheros)
- Hebrew:
- Ido: libera
- Interlingua: libere
- Italian: libero, free, libre (software)
- Japanese: フリー(hurī)
- Korean: 자유
- Kurdish:
- Limburgish: vrie
- Lithuanian: nemokama
- Norwegian: fri
- Novial: liberi
- Polish: wolny
- Portuguese: livre
- Romanian: gratuit, liber
- Russian: бесплатный
- Sindhi:
- Spanish: libre
- Swedish: fri
- Turkish: özgür
released
- Albanian: lirë (i/e)
- Chinese:
- Croatian: oslobođen, pušten
- Finnish: vapaa
- German: entlassen, befreit
- Polish: wolny
- Russian: свободный, освобождённый
- Swedish: fri, lös, släppt
- West Frisian: frijlitten, befrijt
being absent from it
- ttbc Hungarian: szabad (1, 2), ingyenes (5), nélkül (3)
- ttbc Indonesian: bebas / merdeka (1), gratis / cuma-cuma (2), bebas / merdeka, gratis (5), cuma-cuma, tanpa, kosong
- ttbc Irish: saor
- ttbc Lithuanian: be (3); neribotas (4);
- ttbc Low Saxon: fri, leddig, lerrig, ledig
- ttbc Occitan: liure (1,3), dobèrt (2), gratis (5), gratuït (5),
- ttbc Serbian: slobodan (1), besplatan (5)
- ttbc Slovak: slobodný, bezplatný, slobodný (1), voľný (1, 2, 4), bezplatný (5)
- ttbc Tamil: இலவசம
- Volapük: libik, livik
Adverb
- In a way which is free, especially with regard to contraints or
price.
- I got this bike free.
Translations
in a way which is free
- Albanian: falas
- Finnish: ilmaiseksi
- French: gratis, gratos
- Russian: свободно, бесплатно
Verb
Translations
make free
- Afrikaans: bevry, loslaat, laat gaan
- Albanian: liroj
- Danish: befri, fritage, løslade
- Dutch: bevrijden, loslaten, laten gaan
- Esperanto: liberi
- Estonian: vabastama, vabaks laskma
- Finnish: vapauttaa, päästää vapaaksi
- French: libérer, dégager (free someone from prison)
- German: befreien
- Greek: ελευθερώνω (eleftheróno)
- Hebrew:
- Interlingua: liberar
- Italian: liberare
- Kurdish:
- Latin: liberare
- Lithuanian: išlaisvinti
- Norwegian: frigjøre, frigi, befri, løslate
- Occitan: desliurar
- Old English: freogan
- Portuguese: libertar, livrar, soltar
- Romanian: a elibera
- Russian: освобождать , освободить
- Serbian: osloboditi
- Slovak: oslobodiť
- Slovene: osvoboditi
- Spanish: librar
- Swedish: befria, frita(ga)
- Turkish: serbest bırakmak
Noun
- Abbreviation of free kick.
- 2006: Whether deserved or not, the free gave Cresswell the chance to cover himself in glory with a shot on goal after the siren. http://footballlegends.org/daryn_cresswell.htm
Translations
abbreviation of free kick
- Finnish: vapari
- German: Freistoss
Anagrams
Derived terms
See also
Extensive Definition
Free may refer to:
Arts and philosophy
- Free, to emancipate, to obtain political rights usually for a disenfranchised group
- Free, a pseudonym for the activist and writer Abbie Hoffman
- "Free" (Desperate Housewives), a television episode
- Free content, content without significant legal usability restrictions
- Free will, control exercised by rational agents over their actions and decisions
Computing
- free (programming), a function that releases dynamically allocated memory for reuse
- Freefont, an open font project
- Free software, software usable without restriction and distributable as such
- Freeware, a broader class of software available at no cost or for an optional fee
- Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment, a description of the Shenmue game series
Mathematics
Music
- Free (Rick Astley album)
- Free (Chi Rho album)
- Free (Concrete Blonde album)
- Free (Dana International album)
- Free (For Real album)
- Free (Free album)
- Free (Libera album)
- Free (Marcus Miller album); includes a song titled "Free"
- Free (Negativland album)
- Free (OSI album); includes a song titled "Free"
- Free (The Party album)
- Free (Planetshakers album)
- Free (Rivermaya album)
- Free (Kate Ryan album)
- Free... (Acid King EP); includes a song titled "Free"
- "Free" (Sarah Brightman song)
- "Free" (Chicago song)
- "Free" (Erika song)
- "Free" (Estelle song)
- "Free", a song by Phish from the album Billy Breathes
- "Free" (Plumb song)
- "Free", a song by Cat Power from the album You Are Free
- "Free", a song by Powerman 5000 from the album Transform
- "Free", a song by Prince from the album 1999
- "Free" (Stryper song)
- "Free" a song by Ultra Naté from the album Situation: Critical
- "Free", a song by VAST from the album Music for People
- "Free" (Deniece Williams song)
- Free (band)
- Free (rapper)
- Free jazz
Organizations
- Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, a New York agency providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities
- Fight Repression of Erotic Expression, a University of Minnesota student group, now the Queer Student Cultural Center
- Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, a Lake Jackson, Texas, libertarian think tank founded by Ron Paul
- Free (ISP), a French internet service provider
- Free Airlines, a Kinshasa Congolese air operator
Public services
- Free education, education provided at no cost to students
- Free public transport, zero-fare services, funded without collecting fares from passengers
See also
- Gratis versus Libre, a dichotomy illustrated by the phrase "free as in speech, not as in beer"
free in French: Free (homonymie)
free in Italian: Free (disambigua)
free in Dutch: Free
free in Simple English: Free
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
abandoned, able, above, absolve, accessible, acquit, adrift, affranchise, afloat, afoot and lighthearted,
allowed, amnesty, approachable, arbitrary, artless, as a gift, as our
guest, at large, at leisure, at liberty, at loose ends, at will,
autarchic, autarkic, autonomous, available, bald, bare, bighearted, bluff, blunt, bounteous, bountiful, break loose, break
out, broad, brusque, candid, cast off, casual, charitable, cleanse, cleanse away, clear, clear of, cleared, communicative, complimentary, conversable, costless, cut loose, debauched, decontaminate, deliver, delivered, democratic, demonstrative, deobstruct, deserted, destigmatize, detach, detached, diffuse, direct, disburden, discharge, disclose, disclosed, discretional, discretionary, disembarrass, disembroil, disencumber, disengage, disengaged, disentangle, disenthrall, disinvolve, disjoin, dislodge, dismiss, dispense from, dispense
with, disperse,
dissipated, dissolute, doff, downright, ease, ease off, easy, easygoing, effusive, elective, eleemosynary, emancipate, emancipated, empty, enfranchise, enfranchised, escaped, except, exculpate, excuse, exempt, exempt from, exonerate, expansive, expenseless, explicit, expose, exposed, extra, extract, extricate, extricated, extroverted, fallow, fast, fled, floating, flown, footloose, footloose and
fancy-free, for free, for love, for nothing, for the asking,
forgive, forsaken, forthright, frank, frankhearted, free and
easy, free as air, free for nothing, free from, free gratis, free
of, free of charge, free of cost, free up, free will, free-born,
free-speaking, free-spoken, free-tongued, freebie, freeborn, freed, freehanded, freehearted, freely, fugitive, furlough, gallant, gay, generous, genuine, get out, giftlike, give absolution, give
dispensation from, give release, give respite, given, giving, gossipy, gracious, grant amnesty to,
grant immunity, grant remission, gratis, gratuitous, gratuitously, greathearted, handsome, heart-to-heart,
honest, hospitable, idle, in the clear, independent, individualistic,
informal, ingenuous, intermit, jobless, justify, large, largehearted, lavish, leisure, leisured, let go, let loose,
let off, let out, let up, liberal, liberate, liberated, licentious, loose, loosely, loosen, lumpen, magnanimous, manifest, manumit, munificent, naked, natural, newsy, nonmandatory, nonpros, off, off duty, off work, offered, on one, on parole, on
the house, on the loose, open, open-handed, openhanded, openhearted, openly, optional, out, out of, out of employ, out of
harness, out of work, outgoing, outright, outspoken, pardon, parole, patefy, permitted, plain, plain-spoken, princely, proffered, profligate, profuse, purge, purge away, quash the
charge, quit, quit of,
rakehell, rakehellish, rakehelly, rakish, ransom, recover, redeem, redeemed, relax, relaxed, release, released, relieve, remise, remit, remove, reprieve, rescue, rescued, retired, retrieve, reveal, rickety, rid, rid of, round, runaway, salvage, save, save the necessity, scatter, scot-free, self-acting,
self-active, self-determined, self-determining, self-directing,
self-governed, self-governing, self-revealing, self-revelatory,
semiretired,
separate, set at large,
set at liberty, set free, shaky, shed of, shrive, shut of, sincere, slack, slack off, slacken, sociable, sovereign, spare, spontaneous, spring, sprung, stintless, straight, straight-out,
straightforward,
suspend, take off,
talkative, tear loose,
tenantless, to his
heirs, transparent,
unanchored, unasked, unattached, unbar, unbesought, unbidden, unbind, unblock, unbolt, unbought, unbound, unbridled, unbuckle, unburden, unbutton, uncage, uncalled-for, uncase, unceremonious, unchain, unchained, unchecked, unclasp, unclench, unclog, unclogged, unclosed, unclutch, unclutter, uncoerced, uncommitted, uncompelled, unconditional, unconditioned, unconfined, unconstrained, uncontrolled, uncork, uncover, uncovered, uncurtain, undo, undone, undrape, unemployable, unemployed, unencumbered, unengaged, unenslaved, unequivocal, unfasten, unfastened, unfetter, unfettered, unfilled, unfixed, unfold, unforced, unfoul, unglue, ungrudging, unguarded, unhampered, unhidden, unhindered, unimpeded, uninfluenced, uninhabited, uninhibited, uninvited, uninvolved, unknot, unlace, unlatch, unleash, unlock, unloose, unloosen, unmanned, unobstructed, unoccupied, unpaid-for,
unpeopled, unplug, unpopulated, unpressured, unprompted, unravel, unrepressed, unrequested, unrequired, unreserved, unreservedly, unrestrained, unrestricted, unreticent, unroll, unscramble, unseal, unsecretive, unselfish, unshackle, unshackled, unsheathe, unshrinking, unshut, unsilent, unsnarl, unsolicited, unsought, unsparing, unstaffed, unstick, unstinted, unstinting, unstop, unstopped, unstrap, unstuck, unsuppressed, untaken, untangle, untaxed, untenanted, untended, untie, untied, unused, unveil, unwrap, vacant, vindicate, voluntary, volunteer, weigh anchor, well
out of, whitewash,
wide-open, wild, willful, with abandon, withdraw
the charge, without,
without charge, without restraint, without
stint