free lunch

noun

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of free lunch

: something one does not have to pay for; also : free ride

Recent Examples of free lunch from the Web

But battery-powered cars aren’t a carbon-free lunch since fossil fuels account for 63% of U.S. electric generation.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "The Fuel Economy Fraud," 3 Apr. 2018
Congratulations & see our OFFICIAL RULES for more details: https://t.co/vHuy8315ee pic.twitter.com/8KGbskGFxt — Little Caesars (@littlecaesars) March 17, 2018 It’s April 2 on Monday, so here are the details on how to get your free lunch combo: 1.

— charles curtis, For The Win, "Here's how to get a free Little Caesars pizza lunch combo thanks to UMBC," 2 Apr. 2018
Little Caesars is giving away free lunch combos Monday (April 2).

— diana samuels, NOLA.com, "Get free pizza at Little Caesars Monday: Here are the details," 2 Apr. 2018
Diana Abasta, president of the Burbank Teachers Assn., said teachers have the right to a duty-free lunch period and are not obligated to provide additional help to students during lunch.

— anthony clark carpio, latimes.com, "Burbank teachers union advises members to lock their classrooms during lunch period," 31 Mar. 2018
Of the 700 students at the school, more than a quarter are homeless, said Lagdamen, and 100 percent qualify for free lunch.

— leah garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, "Children explore how vegetable superpowers can help the homeless," 27 Mar. 2018
The prudent path is, therefore, to (regressively) distribute free lunches today, then try to hector a Democratic president into cutting entitlements, tomorrow.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "GOP to Push for More Tax Cuts — and a Balanced Budget Amendment," 28 Mar. 2018
Obviously, there is no free lunch, and the problem here is quarrying, crushing, and transporting all that basalt.

— scott k. johnson, Ars Technica, "Crush the right rock and spread it on farms to help soil and the climate," 22 Feb. 2018
When Baltimore’s public school district joined a universal free lunch program three years ago, the city celebrated.

— talia richman, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore's new method of counting poverty in schools misses immigrants, costing thousands in federal funding," 7 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of free lunch

1900

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Financial Definition of FREE LUNCH

free lunch

noun

What It Is

Free lunch is a phrase used to describe getting something for nothing.

How It Works

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Why It Matters

There are many things in life that seem to come for free: clean air, elementary school, a good-looking wife for example. Although these things indeed do not come with a blatant financial price or transaction attached at the time of use, we all know that our taxes pay to keep the air clean and operate schools, for example. And of course, nobody gets a good-looking wife without paying for a few dinners and a ring.

Source: Investing Answers