free safety
noun
: a safety in football who has no particular receiver to cover in a man-to-man defense
Examples of free safety in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Played free safety, but projects at linebacker for Aztecs.
—
Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2025
The captain rotated between nickel cornerback, strong safety and free safety and played every single defensive snap before his injury.
—Nate Atkins, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2025
Fitzpatrick, who has contributed 50 tackles, one interception and recovered one fumble in the nine games, has played free safety and nickel cornerback for the Dolphins in his return to the team that initially drafted him 11th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2025
In the montage that played, there were no hero shots of Ben as a whippet free safety for Harvard.
—Nick Stern, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for free safety
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2025
The captain rotated between nickel cornerback, strong safety and free safety and played every single defensive snap before his injury.
—Nate Atkins, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2025
Fitzpatrick, who has contributed 50 tackles, one interception and recovered one fumble in the nine games, has played free safety and nickel cornerback for the Dolphins in his return to the team that initially drafted him 11th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2025
In the montage that played, there were no hero shots of Ben as a whippet free safety for Harvard.
—Nick Stern, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for free safety
Cite this Entry
“Free safety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20safety. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share