freelance
free·lance/ˈfɹiˌlæns/noun, adjective, verb
freelance is spelled F-R-E-E-L-A-N-C-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables (free·lance). It appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, freelance means “Someone who sells their services to clients without a long-term employment contract” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of freelance is freelances.
How many letters and syllables are in freelance?
| Letters | 9: F-R-E-E-L-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: free·lance |
| In writing | 4.8 times per million words; the 11,541st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is freelance?
Freelance appears 4.8 times per million words in written English, the 11,541st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce freelance?
- UK /ˈfɹiːlɑːns/
- US /ˈfɹiˌlæns/
Freelance has 2 syllables, split free·lance in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-freelance.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with freelance
Also written: free-lance (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of freelance
- freelances plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- free-lance
- free lance
- more freelance comparative
- most freelance superlative
- freelancing participle, present
- freelanced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does freelance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Someone who sells their services to clients without a long-term employment contract.
- 2
A medieval mercenary.
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to a freelance; without a long-term employment contract.
He was a freelance writer for several magazines.
verb
- 1
To work as a freelance.
- 2
To produce or sell services as a freelance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Freelance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pigiste, freelance , mercenaire , à la pige, indépendant |
| German | freier Mitarbeiter , freiberuflich |
| Spanish | freelance, free-lance , freelancer, free-lancer, free lancer, por libre |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does freelance come from?
From free + lance. Coined by Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Ivanhoe (1819; see quotation) to describe a medieval mercenary warrior or "free-lance" (indicating that the lance is not sworn to any lord's services). It changed to a figurative noun around the 1860s and was recognized as a verb in 1903 by authorities such as the Oxford English Dictionary. In modern times the term has morphed into an adjective, a verb, and an adverb, as well as the derivative noun freelancer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).