free

/fɹiː/

//fɹiː// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"free" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“free” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #211 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#211
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Unconstrained.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

free vs fry
50% similar
free vs fro
50% similar
free vs FTE
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

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

Where “free” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). free lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for free is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, 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 generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for free, with forms such as "fere", "ffree", and "fre". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fry", "fro", "FTE", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

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… The correct English form is free, spelled F-R-E-E.

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

libre(Español)libre(Français)frei(Deutsch)livre(Português)

Common misspellings

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

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of free - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

fere2ffree1fre1frree1rfee2
Edit distance from "free"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

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 adjective, "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.

Using “free”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-R-E-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /fɹiː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fry” - see the side-by-side comparison. free vs fry
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list