# there's no such thing as a free lunch

> English word · Phrase

## Definitions
1. Nothing is free; even things that appear free often have to be paid for in the end.

## Etymology
In use since the 1930s. Popularized by the American economist Milton Friedman through the title of a 1975 book, and frequently misattributed to him.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-free-lunch