free

See also -free

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Middle English fre, from Old English frēo.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fɹiː/, SAMPA: /fri:/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iː

A sign advertising free beer (obtainable without payment).

A "buy one get one free" sign at a flower stand (obtainable without additional payment).

This food product is labelled "fat free", meaning it contains no fat.

Adjective

free (comparative freer, superlative freest)

1. Not imprisoned or enslaved.

   a free man

2. Obtainable without any payment.

   The government provides free health care.

3. (by extension, chiefly advertising slang) Obtainable without additional payment, as a bonus given when paying for something else.

   Buy a TV to get a free DVD player!

4. Unconstrained.

   He was given free rein to do whatever he wanted

5. (mathematics) Unconstrained by relators.

   The free group on three generators

6. (mathematics, logic) Unconstrained by quantifiers.

   z is the free variable in "$\forall x\exists y:xy=z$".

7. Unobstructed, without blockages.

   The drain was free.

8. Not in use

   Go sit on this chair, it's free.

9. Without obligations.

   free time

10. (software) With very few limitations on distribution or improvement.

    OpenOffice is free software.

11. Without; not containing (what is specified).

    We had a wholesome, filling meal, free of meat

12. (programming) Of identifiers, not bound.
13. (botany, mycology) Not attached; loose.

    In this group of mushrooms, the gills are free.

    • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page 7

      Furthermore, the free anterior margin of the lobule is arched toward the lobe and is often involute […]

14. (of a morpheme) That can be used by itself, unattached to another morpheme.

Synonyms

• (obtainable without payment): free of charge, gratis
• (unconstrained): unconstrained, unfettered, unhindered
• (unobstructed): clear, unobstructed
• (software: with very few limitations on distribution or improvement): libre
• (without): without
• (programming: not bound): unbound

Antonyms

• (not imprisoned or enslaved): bound, enslaved, imprisoned
• (unconstrained): constrained, restricted
• (logic: unconstrained by quantifiers): bound
• (unobstructed): blocked, obstructed
• (of identifiers, not bound): bound
• (software: with very few limitations on distribution or improvement): proprietary software

Derived terms

Terms derived from free

-free free Abelian group, free abelian group free algebra free as a bird freeball freebooter free fall free group freelance

freeloader Freemason free module free object free of charge free rein free ride free rider free semigroup

free spirit free-thinker free time free variable free vote freeware freewheel free will unfree

Related terms

• freedom
• friend

Translations

not imprisoned

Afrikaans: vrye (af) Albanian: lirë (sq) (i/e) Amharic: ነፃ Arabic: حر (ar) (Hurr) m. Armenian: ազատ (hy) (azat) Azeri: azad (az) Bambara: hɔrɔn Bulgarian: свободен (bg) m. Catalan: lliure (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 自由的, simpl. 自由的 (zìyóu de) Croatian: slobodan (hr) Czech: svobodný (cs) m., volný (cs) m. Danish: fri (da) Dutch: vrij (nl), los (nl) Esperanto: libera (eo) Estonian: vaba (et), prii (et) Finnish: vapaa (fi) French: libre (fr) m. and f. German: frei (de), ungebunden (de) Gothic: 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis) Greek: ελεύθερος (el) (eléftheros) m. Haitian Creole: lib Hebrew: חופשי (he) (khofshí) Hindi: आज़ाद (hi) (āzād) Hungarian: szabad (hu) Icelandic: frjáls (is) Ido: libera (io) Indonesian: bebas (id) Interlingua: libere Irish: saor (ga) Italian: libero (it) m. Japanese: 自由 (ja) (じゆう, jiyū)

Korean: 자유 (ko) (jayu) Kurdish: Kurmanji: azad, serbest, rizgar Sorani: ئازاد (ku) (AzAd), ڕزگار (ku) (RizgAr) Latin: līber (la) m. Latvian: brīvs (lv) m. Limburgish: vrie Lithuanian: laisvas m., laisva (lt) f. Luxembourgish: fräi (lb) Malayalam: സ്വതന്ത്രം (svathanthram) Norwegian: fri (no) Novial: liberi Occitan: liure (oc) Old English: frēo (ang), frēolic (ang) Persian: آزاد (fa) (āzād), رها (fa) (rahā) Polish: wolny (pl) Portuguese: livre (pt) m. and f. Romanian: liber (ro) m., slobod (ro) Russian: свободный (ru) (svobódnyj), вольный (ru) (vól’nyj) Scottish Gaelic: saor (gd) Serbian: slobodan (sr) m. Sindhi: آزاد (sd) (āzād) Slovak: slobodný (sk) Slovene: svoboden (sl) m. Spanish: libre (es) Swahili: huru (sw) Swedish: fri (sv) Telugu: విడుదల (te) (vidudala) Turkish: özgür (tr) Ukrainian: вільний (uk) m. Urdu: آزاد (ur) (āzād) West Frisian: frijlitten (fy), frij (fy)

obtainable without payment

Afrikaans: verniet (af), gratis (af) Albanian: falas (sq) Amharic: ነፃ Armenian: անվճար (hy) (anvtshar) Azeri: ödənişsiz (az), pulsuz (az) Bambara: gansan Burmese: အခမဲ့ (my) (əkʰa̰ mḛ) Catalan: de franc (ca), gratuït (ca), gratis (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 免費的, simpl. 免费的 (miǎnfèi de) Croatian: besplatan (hr) Czech: bezplatný (cs) m., volný (cs) m. Danish: gratis (da), fri (da) Dutch: gratis (nl), kosteloos (nl), kosteloze (nl), verniet (nl) (Flanders) Esperanto: senkosta (eo), senpaga (eo) Estonian: tasuta (et) Finnish: ilmainen (fi), maksuton (fi) French: gratuit (fr), gratis (fr) German: umsonst (de), gratis (de), kostenlos (de) Greek: δωρεάν (el) (doreán) Hebrew: חינם (he) (khinám), חופשי (he) (khofshí) Hungarian: ingyenes (hu) Ido: gratuita (io) Indonesian: gratis (id), bebas biaya Interlingua: gratis (ia), gratuite (ia) Irish: saor (ga), saor in aisce (ga) Italian: gratuito (it), gratis (it)

Japanese: 無料 (ja) (むりょう, muryō) Korean: 무료의 (ko) (muryo-ui), 공짜(의) (ko) (gongjja(ui)) Kurdish: Kurmanji: belaş, bêpare, bedewa, herwe Sorani: به‌لاش (ku) (balAsh) Latvian: bezmaksas (lv) Lithuanian: nemokamas (lt) m. Malay: gratis (ms), percuma (ms) Malayalam: സൌജന്യം (soujanyam) Norwegian: gratis (no) Persian: رایگان (fa) (râygân), مفت (fa) (moft), مجانی (fa) (majjâni) Polish: darmowy (pl), bezpłatny (pl) Portuguese: grátis (pt), gratuito (pt), de graça (pt) Romanian: gratis (ro), gratuit (ro) Russian: бесплатный (ru) (besplátnyj) Scottish Gaelic: saor (gd) Serbian: besplatno (sr), džaba (sr) Sindhi: مفت (sd) Slovene: zastonj Spanish: gratis (es) Swahili: bure (sw) Swedish: gratis (sv), fri (sv), kostnadsfri (sv) Telugu: ఉచితము (te) (ucitamu) Turkish: bedava (tr), ücretsiz (tr) Ukrainian: безкоштовний (uk) m. West Frisian: fergees (fy), frij (fy)

unconstrained

Albanian: pafre (sq) Amharic: ነፃ Arabic: حر (ar) (Hurr) m. Armenian: առանց (hy) (arranc‛) Azeri: sərbəst (az) Bambara: hɔrɔn Catalan: lliure (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 自由的, simpl. 自由的 (zìyóu de) Croatian: neograničen (hr), slobodan (hr) Czech: volný (cs) m. Danish: fri (da) Dutch: vrij (nl), los (nl), loslopend (nl) Esperanto: libera (eo) Estonian: vaba (et), prii (et) Finnish: vapaa (fi), rajoittamaton (fi) French: libre (fr) German: frei (de) Greek: ελεύθερος (el) (eléftheros) m., ανεμπόδιστος (el) (anembódistos) m. Hebrew: פנוי (he) (panúy) Ido: libera (io) Interlingua: libere (ia), franc (ia) Irish: saor (ga)

Italian: libero (it) m. Japanese: 自由 (ja) (じゆう, jiyū) Korean: 자유적 (ko) (jayujeok) Kurdish: Kurmanji: berdayî Sorani: سه‌ربه‌ست (ku) (sarbast) Latin: līber (la) m. Limburgish: vrie Norwegian: fri (no), løs (no) Novial: liberi Old English: frēo (ang) Persian: آزاد (fa) (âzâd) Polish: wolny (pl), swobodny (pl) m. Portuguese: livre (pt) Romanian: liber (ro) m., neîmpiedicat (ro) Russian: свободный (ru) (svobódnyj) Scottish Gaelic: saor (gd) Serbian: povoljno, voljno Sindhi: چٽل (sd) m.; چٽل (sd) f. Spanish: libre (es) Swedish: fri (sv) Turkish: serbest (tr)

mathematics: unconstrained

Czech: volný (cs) m. Finnish: vapaa (fi)

Norwegian: fri (no) Portuguese: livre (pt)

unobstructed

Albanian: lirë (sq) (i/e) Azeri: maneə törədilməmiş (az) Catalan: lliure (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 通暢的, simpl. 通畅的 (tōngchàng de), trad. 順暢的, simpl. 順畅的 (shùnchàng de) Croatian: slobodan (hr), otvoren (hr) Czech: volný (cs) m. Dutch: vrij (nl), vrije (nl), open (nl) Esperanto: libera (eo) Estonian: piiramatu (et), takistamatu (et) Finnish: auki (fi) (adverb), aukinainen (fi), avoin (fi), esteetön (fi), selvä (fi) French: libre (fr) German: frei (de) Greek: ελεύθερος (el) (eléftheros) m., ανεμπόδιστος (el) (anembódistos) m. Hebrew: פנוי (he) (panúy) Ido: libera (io) Interlingua: libere (ia), franc (ia) Italian: libero (it) m.

Japanese: そのままの (ja) (sonomamano) Korean: 막힘없는 (ko) (makhimeopneun) Kurdish: Kurmanji: vekirî, vebûyî Limburgish: vrie (li) Norwegian: åpen (no), fri (no) Novial: liberi Polish: wolny (pl), swobodny (pl) m. Portuguese: livre (pt) Romanian: liber (ro) m., neîmpiedicat (ro) Russian: беспрепятственный (ru) (besprepjátstvennyj), свободный (ru) (svobódnyj) Scottish Gaelic: saor (gd) Sindhi: خلاصو (sd) m.; خلاصي (sd) f. Slovene: prost (sl) m. Spanish: libre (es) Telugu: అడ్డగించని (te) (addagincani) Turkish: engellenmemiş (tr)

not in use

Arabic: شاغر (ar) (shaghir) Azeri: boş (az) Czech: volný (cs) m. Finnish: vapaa (fi) Greek: ελεύθερος (el) (eléftheros) m.

Norwegian: ledig (no) Persian: آزاد (fa) (āzād), بی کار (fa) (bikār) Swedish: ledig (sv) Telugu: ఉపయోగించని (te) (upayogincani) Turkish: boş (tr)

without obligations

Albanian: pazënë (sq) (i/e) Azeri: çətininsiz (az) Bambara: hɔrɔn Catalan: lliure (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 自由的, simpl. 自由的 (zìyóu de) Croatian: slobodan (hr) Czech: volný (cs) m. Danish: fri (da) Dutch: vrij (nl), ongedwongen (nl) Esperanto: libera (eo) Estonian: vaba (et) Finnish: vapaa (fi) French: libre (fr) German: frei (de) Greek: ελεύθερος (el) (eléftheros) m. Hebrew: פנוי (he) (panúy), חופשי (he) (khofshí) Hungarian: szabad (hu) Ido: libera (io) Interlingua: libere (ia) Irish: saor (ga)

Italian: libero (it) Japanese: Korean: 자의 (ko) (ja-ui) Kurdish: Kurmanji: azad, serbest Limburgish: vrie Norwegian: fri (no), ledig (no) Novial: liberi Old English: frēo (ang) Polish: wolny (pl) Portuguese: livre (pt) Romanian: liber (ro) m. Russian: свободный (ru) (svobódnyj) Scottish Gaelic: saor (gd) Serbian: bezobavezno Sindhi: فارِغ (sd); واندو (sd) m. Slovene: prost (sl) m. Spanish: libre (es) Swedish: fri (sv) Telugu: నిబంధన లేని (te) (nibandhana leni) Turkish: serbest (tr), zorunsuz (tr)

software: with very few limitations on distribution or improvement

Albanian: lejuar (sq) (i/e) Azeri: azad (az) Bambara: hɔrɔn Catalan: lliure (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 自由的, simpl. 自由的 (zìyóu de) Croatian: slobodan (hr) Czech: svobodný (cs) m. Danish: fri (da) Dutch: vrij (nl), vrije (nl) Esperanto: libera (eo) Estonian: vaba (et) Finnish: avoin (fi), vapaa (fi) French: libre (fr) German: frei (de) Greek: ελεύθερος (el) (eléftheros) m. Hebrew: חופשי (he) (khofshí) Ido: libera (io) Interlingua: libere (ia)

Irish: saor (ga) Italian: libero (it), free (it), libre (it) (software) Japanese: フリー (ja) (furī) Korean: 자유 (ko) (jayu) Kurdish: Kurmanji: azad, vekirî, serbest Limburgish: vrie Lithuanian: nemokama (lt) Norwegian: fri (no) Novial: liberi Polish: wolny (pl) Portuguese: livre (pt) Romanian: gratuit (ro), liber (ro) Russian: бесплатный (ru) (besplátnyj) Sindhi: کليل (sd) m. Spanish: libre (es) Swedish: fri (sv) Telugu: ఉచిత దిగుమతి (te) (ucita digumati) Turkish: özgür (tr)

without

Czech: prostý (cs) Dutch: zonder (nl) Finnish: -ton (fi), ilman (fi) (jotakin), -vapaa (fi) French: sans (fr)

Irish: gan (ga) Persian: بدون (fa) Telugu: లేకుండా (te) (lekumda)

programming: not bound

Czech: volný (cs) Finnish: riippumaton (fi)

Telugu: పరిమితి లేని (te) (parimiti leni)

mycology: not attached to the stipe

Azeri: zəif (az) Finnish: irtonainen (fi)

Turkish: gevşek (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Albanian: lirë (i/e), pa (sq) Serbo-Croatian: oslobođen (hr), pušten (hr) German: entlassen (de), befreit (de), frei von Indonesian: bebas / merdeka (1), gratis / cuma-cuma (2), bebas / merdeka, gratis (5), cuma-cuma, tanpa, kosong Interlingua: libere Italian: senza (it) Lithuanian: be (3); neribotas (4); Low German: fri, leddig, lerrig, ledig

Occitan: liure (1,3), dobèrt (2), gratis (5), gratuït (5), Serbo-Croatian: slobodan (1), besplatan (5) Slovak: slobodný, bezplatný, slobodný (1), voľný (1, 2, 4), bezplatný (5) Swedish: fri (sv), lös (sv), släppt (sv) Tamil: இலவசம் (ilvacam) Volapük: libik, livik West Frisian: frijlitten (fy), befrijt (fy)

Adverb

free (comparative more free, superlative most free)

1. Without needing to pay.

   I got this bike free.

Synonyms

• (informal, without needing to pay): for free, for nothing

Translations

without needing to pay

Albanian: falas (sq) Czech: zadarmo (cs) Finnish: ilmaiseksi (fi) French: gratuitement (fr), (informal) gratis (fr), (informal) gratos (fr) Irish: saor (ga) Italian: gratuitamente (it) Latvian: bezmaksas (lv) Norwegian: gratis (no)

Polish: za darmo (pl), bezpłatnie (pl) Portuguese: grátis (pt), de graça (pt) Russian: бесплатно (ru) (b'esplátno), даром (ru) (dárom) Scottish Gaelic: an asgaidh (gd) Spanish: gratis (es) Swedish: gratis (sv) Telugu: చెల్లించనవసరం లేని (te) (cellincanavasaram leni)

A painting depicting mythical Greek hero Perseus freeing Andromeda, who was imprisoned by a sea monster.

Verb

free (third-person singular simple present frees, present participle freeing, simple past and past participle freed)

1. (transitive) To make free; set at liberty; release; rid of that which confines, limits, embarrasses, or oppresses.

Translations

make free

Afrikaans: bevry (af), loslaat (af), laat gaan (af) Albanian: liroj (sq) Arabic: حرر (ar) (Harrara) Chinese: Mandarin: 解放 (zh) (jiěfàng) Czech: osvobodit (cs) pf. Danish: befri (da), fritage (da), løslade (da) Dutch: bevrijden (nl), loslaten (nl), laten gaan (nl) Esperanto: liberi (eo), liberigi (eo) Estonian: vabastama (et), vabaks laskma (et) Finnish: vapauttaa (fi), päästää (fi) vapaaksi French: libérer (fr), dégager (fr), affranchir (fr) German: befreien (de) freisetzen (de) (free someone from prison) Greek: ελευθερώνω (el) (eleftheróno) Hebrew: שחרר (he) (shikhrér) Interlingua: liberar (ia) Irish: saoraigh (ga) Italian: liberare (it) Japanese: 解放する (ja) (かいほうする, kaihō-suru) Korean: 해방하다 (ko) (haebang-hada) (解放 (ko) + 하다 (ko))

Kurdish: ڕزگار کردن (ku) Latin: liberare (la) Lithuanian: išlaisvinti (lt) Norwegian: frigjøre (no), frigi (no), befri (no), løslate (no) Occitan: desliurar (oc) Old English: frēoġan (ang) Persian: آزاد ساختن (fa) (âzâd sâxtan), آزاد کردن (fa) (âzâd kardan) Polish: uwalniać (pl) impf., uwolnić (pl) pf. Portuguese: libertar (pt), livrar (pt), soltar (pt) Romanian: elibera (ro) Russian: освобождать (ru) (osvoboždát') impf., освободить (ru) (osvobodít') pf. Serbian: osloboditi (sr) pf. Slovak: oslobodiť (sk) pf. Slovene: osvoboditi (sl) pf. Spanish: librar (es) Swedish: frigöra (sv), befria (sv), frita (sv)(ga) Telugu: విడుదల చేయు (te) (vidudala ceyu) Turkish: serbest bırakmak (tr) Vietnamese: giải phóng (vi) (解放 (vi))

Noun

free (plural frees)

1. (Australian rules football, Gaelic football) Abbreviation of free kick.
   • 2006, [1]:

     Whether deserved or not, the free gave Cresswell the chance to cover himself in glory with a shot on goal after the siren.

2. free transfer
   • 2011 September 21, Sam Lyon, “Man City 2 - 0 Birmingham”, BBC Sport:

     Hargreaves, who left Manchester United on a free during the summer, drilled a 22-yard beauty to open the scoring.

3. (hurling) The usual means of restarting play after a foul is committed, where the non-offending team restarts from where the foul was committed.

Translations

abbreviation of free kick

Finnish: vapari (fi) German: Freistoss (de)

Ghotuo: koola

hurling

Irish: (hurling) poc saor (ga) m.

Usage notes

• Rank among most common English words: #351 (Gutenburg)

Anagrams

• fere
• reef