free world

noun, often capitalized F&W

|Updated on: 30 Jul 2018

Definition of free world

: the part of the world where democracy and capitalism or moderate socialism rather than totalitarian or Communist political and economic systems prevail

Recent Examples of free world from the Web

But there’s a lingering obstacle to a polio-free world: A scant number of people who got one version of the vaccine before it was phased out in 2016 carry a variant of the polio virus that was in that vaccine and has since mutated.

— julia belluz, Vox, "A vaccine we don’t even use anymore is a reason polio keeps spreading — yes, really," 4 July 2018
And as for the ever-growing realm of nut butters, in response to an increasingly plant-forward and peanut-free world?

— Sunset, "How to Choose the Right Non-Dairy Milk for You," 22 Jan. 2018
How the remaining members of the free world will respond to this challenge is one of the great questions of the moment.

— james stavridis, Time, "Democracy Isn't Perfect, But It Will Still Prevail," 12 July 2018
But most Americans aren't a top communications official for the leader of the free world -- who half of Americans already think is racist, according to a recent Quinnipiac survey.

— eugene scott, Washington Post, "Why racially charged tweets by the wife of Bill Shine likely won’t matter much," 9 July 2018
This is an election year too—perhaps the most important mid-terms in the history of the free world are only four months away.

— lynn yaeger, Vogue, "President Obama Emerges With a Message For the Midterms," 1 July 2018
That does not hold true when the supposed leader of the free world—or his agents—do it.

— jennifer wright, Harper's BAZAAR, "Why You Need to Say No to Civility," 27 June 2018
The setting on Sentosa was carefully staged to put both leaders on equal footing, projecting a jarring normalcy to the spectacle of a ruthless and reclusive authoritarian strolling at ease in a tropical resort with the leader of the free world.

— philip rucker, Anchorage Daily News, "In a bid for history, Trump flatters North Korea's totalitarian leader," 12 June 2018
Clinton, who was the leader of the free world at the time of the affair, chose to have an inappropriate relationship with an unpaid intern who was more than 25 years his junior.

— refinery29.com, "After His Comments On #MeToo, 2018 Should Be The Year We Cancel Bill Clinton," 5 June 2018

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