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or buildings for an unlimited time and without any conditions: All these houses are freehold properties. | They bought the land freehold. | They have bought the freeholds of their houses. → compare COMMONHOLD, LEASEHOLD
free-hold·er /'fri:həʊldə/ n BrE an owner of freehold land or property
,free 'house n (in Britain) a PUB not controlled by a particular beer-making firm, but getting and selling whatever kind of beer it chooses → compare TIED HOUSE
,free 'kick n (in football) an unopposed kick given to one team when a rule of the game is broken by the other team
free-lance¹ /'fri:lɑ:nsɪl-æns/ also free-lan·cer /-lɑ:nsə || -læn-/ n a writer or other trained worker who earns their money without being in the regular employment of any particular organization —freelance adj, adv: a freelance journalist | She does freelance translation work for several agencies. | He works freelance.
freelance² v [I] to work as a freelance
free-load /'fri:ləʊd/ v [(on, off)] infml derog to live on money and goods given by other people, without giving anything in return; SPONGE —er n
,free 'love n [U] the practice of, or belief in having sexual relations outside marriage without any OBLIGATIONS. This is thought of especially in connection with the HIPPY movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
,free 'lunch There's no such thing as a free lunch phrase nothing is free, and things that appear to be free must be paid for in some way. A book about ECONOMICS in the 1970s by Milton Friedman used this phrase as its title.
free·ly /'fri:li/ adv 1 willingly; readily: I freely admit that what I said was wrong. 2 openly; plainly; without hiding anything: You can speak quite freely in front of me; I won't tell anyone what you say. 3 without any limitation on movement or action: Oil the wheel, then it will turn more freely. | freely available 4 generously: People have given very freely to the fund for victims of the floods. → see FREE² (USAGE)
free·man /'fri:mən/ n pl. -men /mən/ [(Ø)] BrE a person who, as an honour, has been given certain special rights in a city: The famous politician was made a freeman of the City of London. → see also FREEDOM
Freeman, Mor·gan /'mɔ:gən || 'mɔ:r-/ (1937-) a US film actor who has appeared in many films, including Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, and Seven
,free 'market n 1 on the STOCK EXCHANGE, a market in SHARES which can be bought or sold without difficulty 2 a situation in which prices are not controlled or limited in any way
,free ,market e'conomy n a system of trade in which there is free competition
Free·ma·son /'fri:ˌmeɪsən, ˌfri:'meɪsən/ also Mason n a member of an international secret society for men. Freemasons have secret ceremonies and use special hand signs and words to recognize each other. They also do a lot of work for CHARITY. Many men who have important jobs in the UK, for example in politics, business, and the police, belong to this organization, and some people think that Freemasons unfairly help other members. → see also SHRINER
Free·ma·son·ry, freemasonry /'fri:meɪsənri, ˌfri:'meɪ-/ n [U] 1 the system and practices of the Freemasons 2 the natural unspoken understanding and friendly feeling between people of the same kind, or having the same interests, beliefs etc: There's a sort of freemasonry among racing drivers.
,free 'paper n a free local newspaper delivered to houses in an area, usually containing mostly advertisements with some local news and details of events taking place
,free 'pardon n law an official act of forgiving someone and allowing them to go free as though they had never done anything wrong: to grant someone a free pardon
,free 'pass n an official paper giving a person the right to travel or go to the theatre, cinema etc without payment
,free 'period n an amount of time during a school day when a pupil or teacher does not have a class. The time may be used for study or other work but it is usually spent in the school, not at home.
free-phone /'fri:fəʊn/ n [U] FREEFONE
,free 'port n a port where goods of all countries may be brought in or taken out without paying tax
free·post /'fri:pəʊst/ BrE || business reply mail AmE — n [U] (in Britain) an arrangement by which a company pays the cost of letters sent to it by post: Send it freepost to this address. → compare FREEFONE, POST-FREE
,Free Presby·terian ,Church of 'Scotland, the a small group of Protestant Christians mainly in the Highlands of Scotland. It has similar views to the Free Church of Scotland, especially in connection with keeping Sunday for study of the Bible and worship of God. → see also FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND, THE
,free 'radical n [C] tech an atom or group of atoms with at least one free ELECTRON, which combines with other atoms very easily: It is thought that free radicals can damage cells.
,free-'range adj BrE being, concerning, or produced by farm animals, especially hens, that are kept under natural conditions in a farmyard or field: free-range hens | I like free-range eggs. → compare BATTERY
Free·serve /fri:sɜ:v || -sɜ:rv/ trademark a UK company that provides a connection to the Internet for people's computers, but which does not ask people to pay for this service. It started as a British company in 1998, but was bought by the French Wanadoo Group in 2000. In 2004, it changed its name to Wanadoo.
free·si·a /'fri:ziəl-ʒə/ n a plant with sweet-smelling white, yellow, or red flowers
free·stand·ing /ˌfri:'stændɪŋ / adj standing alone without being fixed to a wall, frame, or other support
'Free State, the a PROVINCE of South Africa, in the area south of Johannesburg and west of Lesotho, whose capital city is Bloemfontein. It used to be called the Orange Free State, and it was an independent state in the 19th century, but became part of South Africa after the Boer War of 1899–1902.
free·stone /'fri:stəʊn/ n [U] building stone, such as SANDSTONE or LIMESTONE, that is easily cut in any direction
free·style /'fri:staɪl/ n [U] 1 a competition or method of swimming using the CRAWL stroke: Which swimmer won the 100 metres freestyle? 2 the use of wrestling (WRESTLE) holds according to choice, not set rules —freestyle adj, adv
free·think·er /ˌfri:'θɪŋkə/ n someone who forms their opinions using their own powers of reasoning, and does not just accept official teachings, especially in religious matters —thinking adj
,free 'throw n a chance for a BASKETBALL player to shoot the ball after he has been fouled (FOUL)
,free-to-'air adj BrE free-to-air television or television programmes do not cost extra money to watch: free-to-air television coverage of rugby league matches
Free·town /'fri:taʊn/ the capital city and main port of Sierra Leone, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa
,free 'trade n [U] the system by which foreign goods are allowed to enter a country in unlimited quantities and without payment of high charges
,free 'verse n [U] poetry in a form that does not follow any regular or accepted pattern → compare BLANK VERSE
Free·view /'fri:vju:/ a free DIGITAL TELEVISION service available in the UK. To watch it, people need either a SET-TOP BOX or a special television that can receive digital signals. Freeview broadcasts all the normal television CHANNELS available to everyone and a lot of extra ones provided by the BBC and ITV.
free·ware /'fri:weə/ n [U] SOFTWARE that you can get on the INTERNET without having to pay for it
free·way /'fri:weɪ/ abbrev. fwy n AmE (in the US) a MOTORWAY that is free for drivers to travel on, especially one near or between cities: the Santa Monica Freeway → see Cultural Note at HIGHWAY
free·wheel /ˌfri:'wi:l/ BrE || coast AmE — v [I] to ride a bicycle or drive a vehicle, especially downhill, without providing power from the legs or the engine → compare COAST²