frei
C1All registers (formal, informal, literary, technical). Very high-frequency core vocabulary.
Definition
Meaning
The state of being at liberty; not under control, constraint, or confinement; able to act, speak, or think without restriction.
Without cost or payment; exempt from or not subject to something undesirable; available or unoccupied; lacking in restriction, inhibition, or self-consciousness; generous or lavish; not attached or united.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Highly polysemous and conceptual. Can denote physical liberty, absence of cost, availability, lack of restriction, ideological liberty, and chemical/mechanical states. Often implies a positive, desirable condition. The opposite of 'bound' or 'constrained'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Primarily spelling-related: BrE 'freeing', AmE 'freeing' (no difference). Some minor lexical preference: BrE may use 'free of' slightly more often than 'free from', but both are standard. 'Free of charge' is more formal in both.
Connotations
Largely identical. 'Free' in political/ideological contexts carries the same weight. 'Free' as in 'gratis' is universally understood.
Frequency
Extremely high frequency in both varieties with no significant divergence.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
free someone/something from/of somethingsomething is free of/from somethingfree to do somethingfree for someone/somethingVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “a free hand”
- “free rein”
- “for free”
- “free as a bird”
- “home free”
- “make free with”
- “scot-free”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Free trial, free delivery, free gift with purchase, interest-free credit, tax-free.
Academic
Free variable, free association, free energy, free will debate, freely available data.
Everyday
Are you free tomorrow? It's free to enter. Feel free to help yourself. I finally have some free time.
Technical
Free radical (chemistry), free port (economics/logistics), free oscillation (physics), free morpheme (linguistics), freeware (computing).
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The charity works to free animals from laboratory testing.
- She used a key to free the bicycle from the railings.
American English
- The activists worked to free the political prisoners.
- Can you free up some disk space on the server?
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The park is free to visit.
- I am free on Saturday afternoon.
- This chair is free. You can sit here.
- Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
- The software has a free version with limited features.
- She felt free and happy on her holiday.
- The government was pressured to free the wrongly convicted man.
- The report should be free of any personal bias.
- He finally managed to free himself from his financial debts.
- The free flow of information is essential for a democratic society.
- The artist was given free rein to design the entire exhibition space.
- These are not free variables; they are dependent on the initial conditions.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a 'FREE' bird flying from its cage. The three E's could stand for: Escaped, Easy, Everywhere.
Conceptual Metaphor
FREEDOM IS SPACE TO MOVE (e.g., 'give him some free space', 'free rein'); CONTROL IS PHYSICAL RESTRAINT (e.g., 'free from obligations'); IMPORTANT IS EXPENSIVE, UNIMPORTANT IS FREE (e.g., 'it's just a free magazine').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing 'free' (свободный, бесплатный) with 'freely' (свободно, открыто).
- Do not translate 'free time' as 'свободное время' when meaning 'leisure time' (лучше: 'досуг', 'время для отдыха').
- The phrase 'feel free to...' is a polite invitation, not related to emotion.
- The chemical term 'free radical' is 'свободный радикал', not 'бесплатный'.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect prepositions: 'free of' vs. 'free from' (often interchangeable, but 'free from' suggests relief from something unpleasant).
- Word order: 'for free' (informal) vs. 'free of charge' (formal).
- Using 'free' as a verb incorrectly: 'They freed the prisoners' is correct; 'They freed them from jail' is redundant.
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'free' used as an adverb?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but it is informal. In formal writing, 'free of charge', 'at no cost', or simply 'free' is preferred.
They are often interchangeable. 'Free from' is more common when talking about removing something unpleasant (free from pain/fear). 'Free of' is often used for absence of something (free of charge/defects).
Yes. As a verb, it means 'to release from confinement, slavery, or obligation' (e.g., 'They freed the hostages', 'Free up some memory').
It literally refers to a sports player who is not under contract. Metaphorically, it means a person who is independent and not constrained by commitments or loyalties.