English Word Reference Free

free

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Browse Words → Compare Confusables

By · Reviewed against Wiktionary & Hunspell sources ·

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "free", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "free" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "free" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

free is anEnglishadj. It means: Unconstrained. Pronounced /fɹiː/. It ranks #211 in English word frequency. Often confused with fry and fro.

Key facts for free
PropertyValue
Headwordfree
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdj
IPA/fɹiː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#211
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of free in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for free is 4 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fɹiː/. Corpus data places it at rank #211 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 29 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 5 documented wrong-spelling variants for free, with forms such as "fere", "ffree", and "fre". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fry", "fro", "FTE", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English free, fre, freo, from Old English frēo (“free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“beloved, not in bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“pleased, loved”), from *preyH- (“to please, love”). Related to fr… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is free, spelled F-R-E-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Unconstrained.
  2. 2
    Unconstrained.
  3. 3
    Unconstrained.
  4. 4
    Unconstrained.
  5. 5
    Unconstrained.
  6. 6
    Unconstrained.
  7. 7
    Unconstrained.
  8. 8
    Unconstrained.
  9. 9
    Unconstrained.
  10. 10
    Obtainable without any payment.
  11. 11
    Obtainable without any payment.
  12. 12
    Unconstrained.
  13. 13
    Unconstrained.
  14. 14
    Unconstrained.
  15. 15
    Unconstrained.
  16. 16
    Unconstrained.
  17. 17
    Unconstrained.
  18. 18
    Unconstrained.
  19. 19
    Unconstrained.
  20. 20
    Unconstrained.
  21. 21
    Unconstrained.
  22. 22
    Unconstrained.
  23. 23
    Unconstrained.
  24. 24
    Without; not containing (what is specified); exempt; clear; liberated.
  25. 25
    Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited.
  26. 26
    Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; followed by of.
  27. 27
    Certain or honourable; the opposite of base.
  28. 28
    Privileged or individual; proprietary.
  29. 29
    Having oversteer.

Etymology

From Middle English free, fre, freo, from Old English frēo (“free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“beloved, not in bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“pleased, loved”), from *preyH- (“to please, love”). Related to friend. cognates, etc Germanic cognates include Scots fre (“free”), North Frisian frai, frei, fri, Frii (“free”), Saterland Frisian fräi (“free”), West Frisian frij (“free”), Dutch vrij (“free”), German frei (“free”), Low German free (“free”), Luxembourgish fräi (“free”), Vilamovian frȧj (“free”), Yiddish פֿרײַ (fray, “free”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish fri (“free”), Faroese fríur (“free”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (freis, “free”). Other cognates include Sanskrit प्रिय (priyá-, “beloved”). Germanic and Celtic are the only Indo-European language branches in which the PIE word with the meaning of "dear, beloved" acquired the additional meaning of "free" in the sense of "not in bondage". This was an extension of the idea of "characteristic of those who are dear and beloved", in other words friends and tribe members (in contrast to unfree inhabitants from other tribes and prisoners of war, many of which were among the slaves – compare the Latin use of liberi to mean both "free persons" and "children of a family").

Antonyms

unfree

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: fere,ffree,fre,frree,rfee

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for free

Misspelling Variants of "free"

fere4ffree5fre3frree5rfee4
Misspelling Variants of "free"

Frequency rank: #211 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "free"?
"free" is spelled F-R-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /fɹiː/.
What does "free" mean?
As an adj, "free" means: Unconstrained.
What words are commonly confused with "free"?
"free" is commonly confused with "fry", "fro", "FTE". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "free"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "free" is /fɹiː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "free"?
From Middle English free, fre, freo, from Old English frēo (“free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“beloved, not in bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“pleased, loved”), from *preyH- (“to please, love”). Rel... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter F in our English index:

All "F" wordsABCDEFGHIJKL

Explore PlainSpell

English Words

Browse all English

Words: F

Browse "f" words

Confusable Pairs

Commonly confused words

Spelling Guides

Tips & reference

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.