free
 free (frē)adj. fre·er, fre·est
1. Not imprisoned or enslaved; being at liberty.
2. Not controlled by obligation or the will of another:
felt free to go.
3.
a. Having political independence: “America... is the freest and wealthiest nation in the world” (Rudolph W. Giuliani).
b. Governed by consent and possessing or granting civil liberties:
a free citizenry.
c. Not subject to arbitrary interference by a government:
a free press.
4.
a. Not affected or restricted by a given condition or circumstance:
a healthy animal, free of disease; free from need.
b. Not subject to a given condition; exempt:
income that is free of all taxes.
5. Not subject to external restraint: “Comment is free but facts are sacred” (Charles Prestwich Scott).
6. Not literal or exact:
a free translation.
7.
a. Costing nothing; gratuitous:
a free meal.
b. Publicly supported:
free education.
8.
a. Not occupied or used:
a free locker.
b. Not taken up by scheduled activities:
free time between classes.
9. Unobstructed; clear:
a free lane.
10. Unguarded in expression or manner; open; frank.
11. Taking undue liberties; forward or overfamiliar.
12. Liberal or lavish:
tourists who are free with their money.
13. Given, made, or done of one's own accord; voluntary or spontaneous:
a free act of the will; free choices.
14. Chemistry & Physics.
a. Unconstrained; unconfined:
free expansion.
b. Not fixed in position; capable of relatively unrestricted motion:
a free electron.
c. Not chemically bound in a molecule:
free oxygen.
d. Involving no collisions or interactions:
a free path.
e. Empty:
a free space.
f. Unoccupied:
a free energy level.
15. Nautical. Favorable:
a free wind.
16. Not bound, fastened, or attached:
the free end of a chain.
17. Linguistics.
a. Being a form, especially a morpheme, that can stand as an independent word, such as boat or bring.
b. Being a vowel in an open syllable, as the o in go.adv.
1. In a free manner; without restraint.
2. Without charge.tr.v. freed, free·ing, frees
1. To set at liberty; make free:
freed the slaves; free the imagination.
2. To relieve of a burden, obligation, or restraint:
a people who were at last freed from fear.
3. To remove obstructions or entanglements from; clear:
free a path through the jungle.Idiom:for free Informal
Without charge. [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.] freeʹly adv.freeʹness n.
|
|
