free solo

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noun

plural free solos

rock climbing

: a climb in which a climber uses no artificial aids for support and has no rope or other safety equipment for protection in case of a fall

Before attempting his free solo of Moonlight Buttress, [Alex] Honnold rehearsed the most challenging pitch on rope repeatedly, until he had memorized each move.

—Nathaniel Rich

He's attempting to do something that professional rock climbers have long thought was impossible—a "free solo" ascent of the world's most iconic cliff. That means he is alone and climbing without a rope as he inches his way up more than half a mile of sheer rock.

—Mark Synnott

free soloist noun

plural free soloists

Aside from good sneakers and a bit of friction-inducing chalk on the palms, there is nothing to prevent a free soloist from a fatal fall.

—Rafer Guzmán

Honnold … has become the world's pre-eminent free soloist, traveling around the world to scale seemingly unscalable mountains.

—G. Allen Johnson

free solo

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verb

variants or free-solo

ˈfrē-ˈsō-(ˌ)lō 

free soloed or free-soloed; free soloing or free-soloing; free soloes or free-soloes

transitive + intransitive

rock climbing

: to perform a free solo climb of a rock face, climbing route, etc. : to climb without the use of artificial aids or safety equipment

On June 3, 2017, Alex Honnold free soloed the Freerider route of El Capitan in three hours and 56 minutes.

—Bret Stephens

When a climber "free solos" a route, any mistake will result in falling to your death.

—C. Moon Reed

"When I free-solo, I personally only do climbs I've climbed before," [Austen] McNulty said.

—Tim Drugan-Eppich

free soloing noun

or free-soloing

In the sport of free soloing, which means climbing with only a powdery chalk bag and rock shoes—no rope, no gear, nothing to keep you stuck to the stone but your own belief and ability—doubt is dangerous.

—Mark Jenkins

Examples of free solo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Honnold’s free solo of Free Rider, Caldwell’s Dawn Wall redpoint, and Marc-André Leclerc’s bold alpinism each defined their legacies; their movies are appropriately named. —Sam MacIlwaine, Outside Online, 29 May 2025

Honnold skyrocketed to global fame in June 2017 for his history-making free solo ascent of El Capitan (which was dramatically captured in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo). —Skyler Caruso, People.com, 23 May 2025

The mortality rate for free solo climbers is a fact Honnold casually accepts. —Eric Farwell and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 17 Aug. 2024

Bickers will give a free solo organ recital to celebrate Village Presbyterian’s 75th anniversary March 1 at the church. —Patrick Neas, Kansas City Star, 23 Feb. 2024

This stomach-dropping doc, chronicling Alex Honnold's efforts to make the first free solo (that is, no ropes) climb up the vertical face of Yosemite’s El Capitan, is one of the most breathless action movies ever made. —Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 21 Jan. 2024

Dani Arnold completing a free solo ascent of Crack Baby, an icefall in Kandersteg, Switzerland. —Jacopo Pasotti, WIRED, 25 Jan. 2024

Rocky Mountain National Park:Woman dies after falling 500 feet while free solo climbing Other recent deaths at Rocky Mountain National Park On July 2, a 24-year-old man from Las Vegas died after falling into the water at West Creek Falls, the Coloradoan reported. —Francisco Guzman, USA TODAY, 14 Aug. 2023

Adventurous souls can scale the sheer Arizona desert cliffs without ever being at risk of falling — kind of an accessible free solo situation — to the top of 400-foot Castle Peak. —Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 28 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1977, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1977, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for free solo

• nolo