free-living

adjective

free-liv·​ing ˈfrē-ˈli-viŋ How to pronounce free-living (audio)
1
: marked by more than usual freedom in the gratification of appetites
2
a
: not fixed to the substrate but capable of motility
a free-living protozoan
b
: being metabolically independent : neither parasitic nor symbiotic
a free-living adult hairworm

Examples of free-living in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The theory involves the mitochondrion — an organelle that was once a free-living bacterium. Quanta Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024 Long ago, mitochondria were free-living bacteria that joined forces with another type of primitive cell to work together in what became our modern complex cells. Quanta Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024 Alfie’s first free-living year—mating, raising her first brood—coincided with the 2020 Covid pandemic that confined us to our yard. Carl Safina, TIME, 5 Oct. 2023 But one of these amoebas, Naegleria fowleri, can infect humans, says Kyle, one of the world's top experts in pathogenic free-living amoebas. Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 3 Oct. 2023 Professor Geiger and collaborators discovered these traits in free-living marine α-proteobacteria that are common in hot springs around the world. Grrlscientist, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023 As a country with a significant street-dog population, India is a good place from which to explore how humans and canines share street life in cooperative ways that move beyond images of free-living dogs as dangerous. Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 10 May 2023 The problem with that idea, Kronauer explained, is that nobody has ever observed in the wild what should be an essential, early step of the process: free-living, facultative social parasites living in isolation from their close relatives. Viviane Callier, Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'free-living.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of free-living was in 1818

Dictionary Entries Near free-living

Cite this Entry

“Free-living.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free-living. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

free-living

adjective
free-liv·​ing ˈfrē-ˈliv-iŋ How to pronounce free-living (audio)
1
: not fixed to the substrate but capable of motility
a free-living protozoan
2
: being metabolically independent : neither parasitic nor symbiotic
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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