free

free¹ W1S1 [fri:] adj

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(no cost)¦

2¦(not a prisoner)¦

3¦(not controlled)¦

4¦(not busy)¦

5¦(not being used)¦

6¦(not suffering)¦

7¦(not containing something)¦

8¦(tax)¦

9 feel free

10 free and easy

11 free spirit

12 give somebody a free hand/rein

13 there's no free lunch

14 it's a free country

15 get/take a free ride

16 be free with something

17 make free with something

18¦(not restricted)¦

19¦(chemicals)¦

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1.) ¦(NO COST)¦

something that is free does not cost you any money

▪ Admission is free for children under 9.

▪ All students are offered free accommodation.

▪ Send for our free information pack for more details.

▪ There's a special free gift with this month's magazine.

2.) ¦(NOT A PRISONER)¦

not held, tied up, or kept somewhere as a prisoner

▪ He knew he could be free in as little as three years.

▪ With one leap he was free!

▪ He walked out of the courtroom a free man .

▪ They have called on the government to set all political prisoners free .

▪ He was found not guilty and walked free from the court.

▪ The animals are allowed to run free in the park.

▪ Hundreds of dogs roam free on the streets.

break/pull/struggle free

▪ She managed to break free from her attacker.

3.) ¦(NOT CONTROLLED)¦

allowed to do or say whatever you want, or allowed to happen, without being controlled or restricted by anyone or anything

▪ We had a free and open discussion about religion.

free to do sth

▪ Remember, you are free to say no.

free from

▪ Newspapers today are entirely free from government control.

▪ Women are struggling to break free from tradition.

free of

▪ I longed to be free of my family.

▪ He became president following the country's first free elections last year.

▪ We would all support the principle of free speech .

▪ For the first time in its history, the country has a free press .

▪ Patients are now allowed free access to their medical records.

▪ The legislation will allow the free movement of goods through all the countries in Europe.

4.) ¦(NOT BUSY)¦

if you are free, or have some free time, you have no work, and nothing else that you must do

→↑available

▪ I'm free next weekend.

free for

▪ Are you free for lunch tomorrow?

free to do sth

▪ At last I was free to concentrate on my own research.

a free day/morning/half-hour etc

▪ I haven't got a free day this week.

▪ Children these days have very little free time .

5.) ¦(NOT BEING USED)¦

something that is free is available to use because it is not already being used

▪ Is this seat free?

▪ I'm afraid we don't have any free tables this evening.

▪ He used his free hand to unlock the door and open it.

6.) ¦(NOT SUFFERING)¦

not suffering from something

free of

▪ At last she was free of pain.

free from

▪ A lot of the patients are now free from symptoms.

pain-free/trouble-free etc

▪ a stress-free life

7.) ¦(NOT CONTAINING SOMETHING)¦

not containing something

free from/of

▪ All our drinks are free from artificial colourings and flavourings.

fat-free/dairy-free etc

▪ a fat-free yoghurt

8.) ¦(TAX)¦

if something is free of tax, you do not have to pay tax on it

free of

▪ This income should be free of tax.

tax-free/duty-free etc

▪ tax-free earnings

▪ an opportunity to buy duty-free goods

9.) feel free

spoken used to tell someone that they can do something

▪ Feel free to ask questions.

▪ 'Can I use your bathroom?' 'Yes, feel free.'

10.) free and easy

relaxed, friendly, and without many rules

▪ I knew that life wasn't going to be so free and easy now.

▪ the free and easy atmosphere of university life

11.) free spirit

someone who lives as they want to rather than in the way that society considers normal

12.) give sb a free hand/rein

to let someone do whatever they want or need to do in a particular situation

▪ The producer was given a free rein with the script.

13.) there's no free lunch also there's no such thing as a free lunch

used to say that you should not expect to get something good without having to pay for it or make any effort

14.) it's a free country

BrE used, usually humorously, to say that you are or should be allowed to do something, after someone has said that you should not do it

▪ It's a free country. You can't stop me.

15.) get/take a free ride informal

to get something without paying for it or working for it, because other people are paying or working for it

▪ They are encouraging all workers to join the union rather than just taking a free ride on those who do join.

16.) be free with sth

to be very generous with something

▪ He seems to be very free with other people's money.

▪ She is always free with her advice.

17.) make free with sth informal

to use something that belongs to someone else when you should not

▪ I knew that they had been making free with our food.

18.) ¦(NOT RESTRICTED)¦

something that is free is not held, blocked, or restricted

▪ We opened both doors to allow a free flow of air through the building.

19.) ¦(CHEMICALS)¦

technical a free chemical substance is not combined with any other substance

▪ the amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere

free ²

free² W3 past tense and past participle freed present participle freeing

v [T]

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1¦(release)¦

2¦(not control)¦

3¦(allow somebody/something to move)¦

4¦(stop somebody suffering)¦

5¦(make available)¦

6¦(give somebody more time)¦

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1.) ¦(RELEASE)¦

to allow someone to leave prison or somewhere they have been kept as a prisoner

= ↑release

▪ He expects to be freed quite soon.

▪ The terrorists have at last agreed to free the hostages.

free sb from sth

▪ She was freed from prison last week.

2.) ¦(NOT CONTROL)¦

to allow someone to say and do what they want, after controlling or restricting them in the past

free sb from/of sth

▪ The press has now been freed from political control.

▪ She longed to be freed of her responsibilities.

▪ Art frees the imagination.

3.) ¦(ALLOW SOMEBODY/SOMETHING TO MOVE)¦

to move someone or something so that they are no longer held, fixed, or trapped

= ↑release

▪ He struggled to free himself, but the ropes were too tight.

▪ I couldn't free the safety catch.

free sb/sth from sth

▪ All the victims have now been freed from the wreckage.

4.) ¦(STOP SOMEBODY SUFFERING)¦

to stop someone suffering from something by removing it

free sb from sth

▪ new drugs that can free people from pain

▪ At last the country has been freed from its enormous debts.

5.) ¦(MAKE AVAILABLE)¦ also free sth<=>up

to make something available so that it can be used

▪ I need to free up some of the disk space on my computer.

▪ This should free some money for investment.

6.) ¦(GIVE SOMEBODY MORE TIME)¦ also free sb<=>up

to give someone time to do something by taking away other jobs that they have to do

free sb (up) to do sth

▪ Taking away the burden of administration will free teachers to concentrate on teaching.

▪ We have freed up some staff to deal with the backlog of work.

free ³

free³ adv

1.) without payment

▪ Children under four can travel free.

▪ You can get advice free from your local library.

for free

▪ He offered to do the work for free.

▪ All these services are available to the public free of charge .

2.) not fixed or held in a particular place or position

▪ The ropes were now hanging free.

▪ A gold chain swung free around his neck.

→↑freely, ↑scot-free