free // adjective, verb, adverb

■ adjective (freer // freest //)

DUTY-FREE, HANDS-FREE, INTEREST-FREE, POST-FREE, SMOKE-FREE, TAX-FREE, TOLL-FREE

1

costing nothing:

Drug companies regularly give out free samples of their products.

The website is free for personal use (but companies pay to use it).

You can't expect people to work for free (= without payment).

2

able to move or be exchanged between people without restrictions:

There is free movement of capital and labour within the European Union.

a free flow of information

3

not containing or affected by sth harmful or unpleasant:

Our products are completely free from harmful chemicals.

Benefits received under the policy are free of tax.

The company in now free from debt.

4 -free (in adjectives)

without the thing mentioned; not affected by the thing mentioned:

a risk-free investment

5

available to be used:

The software requires about 20 megabytes of free hard-disk space.

The company has $500 million in free cash.

6

(about a person or a time) without particular plans or arrangements; not busy:

Keep Monday morning free for a meeting.

IDIOMS

there's no such thing as a free lunch

used to say that it is not possible to get sth for nothing

■ verb [+ obj] free sb/sth (up)

to make sb/sth available for a particular purpose:

Selling these assets will free up capital to invest in our core business.

We freed time each week for a project meeting.

■ adverb

without payment:

Children under five travel free.

You can download the booklet free of charge.

• integrated marketing communications
• integrated producer
• integration
• integrator
• intellectual assets
• intellectual capital
• intellectual property
• intensive distribution
• inter-
• interact
• interactive
• interactive marketing
• interactive whiteboard
• inter alia
• interbank
• inter-company
• interest
• interest-bearing
• interest cover
• interested party
• interest expense
• interest-free
• interest rate
• interest-rate risk
• interest-rate swap