duty-free

adjective or adverb

ˌdü-tē-ˈfrē 

ˌdyü-, 

ˈd(y)ü-tē-ˌfrē

1

: without payment of customs duties : free from duties

imported duty-free

duty-free goods

2

: relating to or selling duty-free goods

a duty-free shop

Examples of duty-free in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Shein's model was built on the de minimis exemption — the provision that let sub-$800 parcels enter the United States duty-free. — Drew Bernstein, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

That’s the conclusion of new data from Generation Research, a specialist company that tracks the duty-free and travel retail market. — Kapila Ireland, Vogue, 24 July 2026

Some travelers swear by putting Champagne in a carry-on (purchased at duty-free after security) to keep it under their watchful eye. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 July 2026

Yet Europe has extended Kyrgyzstan highly favorable trade conditions through the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which allows the country to export more than 6,200 categories of goods to the EU market duty-free. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 16 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1689, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for duty-free

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy