HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
adj. fre·er, fre·est 1. a. Not imprisoned or confined: walked out of prison a free man; set the birds free. b. Not controlled by obligation or the will of another: felt free to go. 2. a. Not controlled by another country or political power; independent: a free nation. 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. d. Not enslaved. 3. a. Not affected or restricted by a given condition or circumstance: a healthy animal, free of disease; people free from need. b. Not subject to a given condition; exempt: income that is free of all taxes. 4. a. Not bound by convention or the rules of form: a free artistic style. b. Not literal or exact: a free translation. 5. a. Costing nothing; gratuitous: a free meal. b. Publicly supported: free education. 6. a. Unobstructed; clear: a free lane on the highway. b. Not occupied or used: a free locker; free energy. c. Not taken up by scheduled activities: free time between classes. 7. a. Immoderate in giving or spending; liberal or lavish: tourists who are free with their money. b. Frank or unguarded in expression or manner; open or outspoken: She is very free with her opinions. 8. Given, made, or done of one's own accord; voluntary or spontaneous: a free act of the will; free choices. 9. 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 or unoccupied: a free space; an atom with a free energy level. 10. Nautical Favorable: a free wind. 11. Not bound, fastened, or attached: the free end of a chain. 12. 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 make free, as from confinement or oppression: freed the slaves. 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. 4. To make available: Canceling the program freed up money for the new library. n. Idiom: Sports Freestyle. 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 the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] freely adv. freeness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
