free

free1 [ fri ] adjective ***

▸ 1 not costing anything

▸ 2 not prisoner/slave/held

▸ 3 not tied/fixed

▸ 4 available for something

▸ 5 not limited by rules

▸ 6 not affected by something bad

▸ 7 when you talk/give a lot

▸ 8 time with no work to do

▸ 9 in science

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) something that is free does not cost anything:

All talks start at 2:30 p.m. and admission is free.

There is plenty of free parking.

free to/for: The swimming pool is free to hotel guests.

free gift: You can claim your free gift with your first order.

2. ) not a prisoner or a SLAVE:

He will soon be a free man again.

set someone/something free: He opened the cage and set the eagle free.

3. ) not held, tied, or fixed to somewhere:

Hand me the free end of the rope.

With his free hand he carefully unfastened his belt.

get free: Sally struggled to get free from the branches.

4. ) available to see someone, do something, or go somewhere:

I'm busy at the moment, but I'll be free this afternoon.

free for: Are you free for lunch?

a ) available for someone to use:

Is this seat free?

There are no free dressing rooms at the moment.

5. ) not limited or controlled by rules:

Officials want free access to all suspect nuclear sites.

People should have a free choice of lawyers.

free to do something: You are free to come and go as you please.

a ) allowed to decide for yourself what you do, say, or think, especially without being controlled by someone in authority:

a free people

a free country/society: We like to believe we live in a free society.

free speech: We'll defend their right to free speech.

a free election: the first free elections in Germany since 1946

6. ) free from/of not containing or involving something unpleasant:

We want to give all children a world free from violence.

It was a relaxing atmosphere, free of tension.

7. ) free with if you are free with your opinions or comments, you say so much that it annoys other people

a ) if you are free with something, especially money, you spend or give a lot of it:

He's never been particularly free with his cash.

8. ) free time is time when you do not have any work to do, so you can do whatever you want: SPARE:

Do you have any free time this weekend?

I'll keep a day free next week for our meeting.

9. ) SCIENCE not combined with another substance, or not attached to anything else:

free radicals

free and clear

without any limits or conditions

free and easy

relaxed and pleasant

(there's no such thing as) a free lunch MAINLY SPOKEN

used for saying that even if something seems to not cost anything, there is usually a hidden cost or obligation

make free with something BRITISH

to use something that does not belong to you as though it does belong to you

=> FEEL1

free

free 2 [ fri ] verb transitive **

1. ) to let someone leave a prison or a place where they have been forced to stay: RELEASE:

Amnesty International works to free political prisoners.

The hostages were freed unharmed.

a ) to help someone get out of a place:

Rescuers managed to free the trapped climbers.

free someone/something from something: They helped free the injured driver from the wreckage.

2. ) to remove something unpleasant that affects someone or limits their behavior:

free someone/something from something: Morphine was given to free her from pain.

free someone/something of something: He is to be freed of direct responsibility for his staff.

3. ) free or free up to make someone or something available to be used for something else:

By scrapping this scheme, the government has freed vital resources.

free someone/something for something: We need to free more police officers for street duties.

free someone/something to do something: A classroom assistant frees teachers to concentrate on teaching.

,free `up phrasal verb transitive

same as FREE 2 3:

We can probably free up $20,000 for new computer equipment.

free

free 3 [ fri ] adverb

1. ) without paying any money:

We got in free.

do something for free: You can't get anything for free in this world.

free of charge: Children can stay free of charge.

2. ) out of a fixed position or out of a place where you are being kept:

I wriggled one hand free from his grasp.

break free: Their prisoner suddenly broke free and ran towards the car.

3. ) without being controlled or stopped:

dogs running free

go/walk free (=not be put in prison): She is appalled that her kidnappers have walked free.