free speech

noun

: speech that is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

also : the right to such speech

an unconstitutional restraint on free speech

—Nat'l Law Jour.

Examples of free speech in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the arrest last month of the owner of the country’s largest media conglomerate has raised fears about the Nepali government’s commitment to free speech, and about whether the country is now going the way of its South Asian neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. —Bhadra Sharma, New York Times, 3 June 2024

TikTok is now challenging the law in federal court, calling it an unconstitutional violation of free speech. —Juliana Kim, NPR, 2 June 2024

Union members authorized the strikes in mid-May, charging UC leaders with violating the free speech rights of members to speak out about their workplaces when police were called in to remove pro-Palestinian encampments or disperse protests at several campuses, resulting in arrests and suspensions. —Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024

The First Amendment prohibits the government from infringing on free speech. —John Wenzel, The Denver Post, 30 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1765, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

free speech

noun

: speech that is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

also : the right to such speech

Legal Definition

free speech

noun

1

: speech that is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

setting off an alarm bell is not free speech

—A. M. Dershowitz

2

: freedom of speech

an unconstitutional restraint on free speech

—National Law Journal