free for the taking

idiom

: available if one wants it
The tickets are free for the taking.

Examples of free for the taking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But then the web programmer wipes his eyes and surveys the sunny garden, the children playing, the food and clothing free for the taking, all arrayed before him at his family’s temporary home at the Shefayim Kibbutz Hotel north of Tel Aviv. Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2023 Indiana biologists find young hellbender in wild for first time since at least the 1980s The potential for a windfall didn't escape Hoosiers eager to cash in on the plentiful supply of shells free for the taking from waterways across much of the state. The Indianapolis Star, 5 Sep. 2023 Phoenix is making opioid overdose-reversal kits free for the taking at all 17 of its public libraries in an effort to combat the opioid crisis and reduce stigmas surrounding substance use disorder. Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 16 Aug. 2023 California’s complex system of water rights took shape starting in the mid-1800s, when settlers saw the state’s water as abundant and free for the taking. Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2023 For more than twenty years, since Napster gave people the idea that music should be free for the taking, a radical devaluation of musicians’ work has been under way. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2020 Hats, scarves, and gloves free for the taking were left on the fence at Boston Common in Boston on Friday. Lauren Booker, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Feb. 2023 One reason for the interest by attackers is the vast amount of personal data that’s essentially free for the taking on corporate and social media platforms. Wayne Rash, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2022 These laws perpetuated the myth of endless land free for the taking, and showed an inability or an unwillingness to observe changes in nature over the seasons and years. Annie Proulx, The New Yorker, 27 June 2022

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

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Cite this Entry

“Free for the taking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20for%20the%20taking. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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