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
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Saunders, who’s 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, played free safety, strong safety and in the slot during two seasons at Ole Miss.
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Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
Although the safety positions are interchangeable, Sigle and Mustapha qualify more as in-the-box safeties rather than as a last line of defense, with Brown and Pinnock operating more as traditional free safeties.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 12 Oct. 2025
He is currently tied with free safety Cam Bynum for the team lead in picks.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
In terms of the depth chart, Sanders is fourth among the free safeties.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
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Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
Although the safety positions are interchangeable, Sigle and Mustapha qualify more as in-the-box safeties rather than as a last line of defense, with Brown and Pinnock operating more as traditional free safeties.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 12 Oct. 2025
He is currently tied with free safety Cam Bynum for the team lead in picks.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
In terms of the depth chart, Sanders is fourth among the free safeties.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 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 31 Oct. 2025.
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