free agent

noun

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Definition of free agent

: a professional athlete (such as a baseball player) who is free to negotiate a contract with any team

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free agency

noun

See free agent defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of free agent from the Web

After all, veteran forward Luke Babbitt, a three-point specialist with much of the same skills as Robinson, and shooting guard Wayne Ellington, who set a franchise record for threes last season, are both free agents.

— manny navarro, miamiherald, "Former Michigan star opening eyes on Heat summer league team with 3-point touch, IQ," 4 July 2018
Among the players who will be free agents after this season, closer Jeurys Familia and second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera are prime candidates to be traded.

— james wagner, New York Times, "Mets Lose Again as They Plod Toward the Trade Deadline," 4 July 2018
None of them would have been free agents until July 1, 2019, and this was the first possible chance to ink extensions that begin more than a year from now.

— stephen whyno, The Seattle Times, "Teams re-sign stars a year ahead of free agency," 2 July 2018
Chalmers, 32, played for the Memphis Grizzlies last season and is a free agent this summer.

— beth bragg, Anchorage Daily News, "What started as a homework assignment turns Anchorage hoops star Mario Chalmers into a author," 27 June 2018
Infielders are Tyler Coolbaugh, JC Escarra, Adam Hall, Milton Ramos, Willie Yahn and Guiyuan Xu, signed aa a non drafted free agent in 2015 from Puning, China.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "IronBirds, 26 of them, hold public workout in prep for Opening Day," 14 June 2018
The only member of last season's Boise State football team that signed an undrafted free agent rookie contract is back on the market.

— dave southorn, idahostatesman, "Former Boise State tight end Jake Roh cut by Falcons; new ticket option for Bronco fans," 4 June 2018
In the eighties, actors were free agents and Hollywood was prospering.

— stephen metcalf, The New Yorker, "How Superheroes Made Movie Stars Expendable," 19 May 2018
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Beebe was not taken in the draft and not offered a free agent contract by any teams.

— rick armstrong, Aurora Beacon-News, "Undrafted, unsigned Chad Beebe takes chance at pros in rookie mini-camps for Vikings, Colts," 6 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'free agent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of free agent

1955

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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FREE AGENT Defined for English Language Learners

free agent

noun

Definition of free agent for English Language Learners

: a person who is able to act freely without being controlled by someone else
: a professional athlete (such as a baseball player) who is free to sign a contract to play for any team