free rein

noun

: unrestricted liberty of action or decision
The studio gave the director free rein over the movie.

Examples of free rein in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Toward that end, Blumhouse gave Cawthon — Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’s sole screenwriter and one of its producers — free rein to tailor its action for the games’ superfandom. Chris Lee, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2025 Sinclair was keen to test her kitten’s obedience and allowed Mila to have free rein of the house. Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025 The free rein was really enjoyable. Celia Fernandez raffi Paul, CNBC, 29 Nov. 2025 Advertisement But that market is not working like it should, and is giving disinformation free rein while eroding the foundations of factual discourse. Richard Stengel, Time, 24 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for free rein

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of free rein was in 1635

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Cite this Entry

“Free rein.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20rein. Accessed 17 Dec. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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