freelance

noun free·lance \ ˈfrē-ˌlan(t)s \

Updated on: 25 Apr 2018

Definition of freelance

1 a usually free lance : a mercenary soldier especially of the Middle Ages : condottiere

b : a person who acts independently without being affiliated with or authorized by an organization

2 : a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer

See freelance defined for kids

Recent Examples of freelance from the Web

Steve Soucie is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

— steve soucie, Daily Southtown, "Run for glory: H-F’s 400-meter relay sets sights on winning state title as a team, too," 21 Apr. 2018
Yadira Sanchez Olson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.

— yadira sanchez olson, Lake County News-Sun, "Lake Villa school officials have to kiss a 'bristly' pig to cap off fundraiser," 21 Apr. 2018
Courson has been a freelance writer for the paper for 10 years.

— CBS News, "Black men "might be better off at home" after Stephon Clark shooting, columnist writes," 16 Apr. 2018
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, a freelance writer for GQ, took the feature writing award.

— jennifer peltz, BostonGlobe.com, "Times, New Yorker win Pulitzer for Weinstein scandal," 16 Apr. 2018
David Leon Moore, who was a sports writer at USA TODAY for 33 years, is a freelance writer, teacher, grandfather and frequent marathoner.

— david leon moore, USA TODAY, "Returning to Boston Marathon five years after bombings, we never take it for granted," 15 Apr. 2018
Devin Gordon, a former executive editor at GQ, is a freelance writer and editor in New York.

— devin gordon, GQ, "James Harden Isn't Playing Around," 12 Apr. 2018
And being in the presence of one, every follicle of hair on your body will stand on end. * * * Jonny Auping is a freelance writer based in Dallas, Texas.

— jonny auping, Longreads, "Chasing the Man Who Caught the Storm: An Interview With Brantley Hargrove," 11 Apr. 2018
Jennifer Rude Klett is a Wisconsin freelance writer of history, food, and Midwestern life.

— jennifer rude klett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Towering treasures: Arbor Day beckons us all to dig a hole, plant a tree," 6 Apr. 2018

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

First Known Use of freelance

1819

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

freelance

adjective

Definition of freelance

1 a : of, relating to, or being a freelance : independent

a freelance writer

b : done by a freelance

freelance reviewing

2 : not sponsored by an organization

freelance terrorists

—

freelance

adverb

See freelance defined for English-language learners

Examples of freelance in a Sentence

I wrote a freelance article for a nature magazine.

Recent Examples of freelance from the Web

Some might want to hire a freelance fact-checker, but that can get expensive: Vulture cites flat prices of between $5,000 and $25,000, and the Editorial Freelancers Association quotes a rate of about $30 to $40 per hour.

— constance grady, Vox, "Book publishing’s fact-checking failure, as illustrated by the Sally Kohn controversy," 20 Apr. 2018
The repurposing is a boon for Downtown Boise, says Dan Everhart, former director of Preservation Idaho and a freelance architectural historian.

— dana oland, idahostatesman, "This historic Downtown Boise building will get a new life this summer," 9 Apr. 2018
Get our daily newsletter In place of the corruption, chaos and the freelance death squads of his predecessors, Ríos Montt brought a lethal modernisation to counter-insurgency.

— The Economist, "The death and cruel life of Efraín Ríos Montt," 5 Apr. 2018
In their article, Greene and Herzberg detail how ostensibly independent freelance science journalists were actually on the industry payroll, penning stories about new wonder drugs for popular magazines long before native advertising became a thing.

— jon kelvey, Smithsonian, "How Advertising Shaped the First Opioid Epidemic," 3 Apr. 2018
What may seem like an inconsequential weekly amount can go far, shares Julious, who saves $10 per week plus larger freelance income for major music festivals and surprise one-offs from her favorite artists.

— martine thompson, Vogue, "How to Save for Special Events Like a Member of Beyoncé’s Beyhive," 27 Mar. 2018
Meyers plans to do some work in retirement, such as freelance grant writing for nonprofits and continuing to teach adjunct communications classes, to keep her mind sharp.

— nancy dahlberg, miamiherald, "So, you want to retire. Will you have the money? | Miami Herald," 24 Mar. 2018
To conduct the study, the researchers recruited freelance workers on Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsourced labor program and paid them $1 each to participate.

— chicagotribune.com, "Facebook played down ties to Analytica researcher," 23 Mar. 2018
Thankfully, freelance platforms like Moonlighting make this a breeze.

— dorothy mitchell, USA TODAY, "4 Considerations For Traveling Freelancers," 12 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of freelance

1891

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

freelance

verb

Definition of freelance

intransitive verb

: to act or work as a freelance

transitive verb

: to produce as a freelance

freelancing magazine articles

Recent Examples of freelance from the Web

The fact that Facebook is publicly traded limits Zuckerberg’s ability to freelance.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Trapped in the Dorm Room," 29 Mar. 2018
In response, Shulkin freelanced in his own communications with the media, going outside normal administration channels.

— matthew yglesias, Vox, "Ousted VA secretary blasts privatization in a New York Times op-ed," 29 Mar. 2018
Many of the drivers are picking up gig economy jobs, like freelancing for Amazon deliveries or providing Uber rides on the weekends, to make ends meet.

— grace donnelly, Fortune, "Why New Yorkers May Have Trouble Finding Cheetos and Doritos," 20 Mar. 2018
Some officials fear the president’s son-in-law has been freelancing foreign policy in one of the most volatile regions in the world.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Trump’s increasingly confrontational approach to Mueller enabled by congressional GOP timidity," 20 Mar. 2018
But there’s additional money to be made off candidates who don’t earn the party’s endorsement, and some ward leaders freelance.

— andrew seidman, Philly.com, "Philly Sheriff Jewell Williams' $34K side gig: Political consultant," 5 Mar. 2018
Souza's many credits include a stint as White House photographer for Ronald Reagan and freelancing for National Geographic and other publications, and being a professor emeritus at Ohio University.

— julie hinds, Detroit Free Press, "Obama's White House photographer shares his 'intimate portrait' in Dearborn," 16 Feb. 2018
Brunson, who continues to freelance for BuzzFeed following the expiration of her two-year deal with the digital publisher, is repped by ICM Partners, Coakley PR, Foundry Media, AltView Law Group and Adam Segal at Generate.

— natalie jarvey, The Hollywood Reporter, "BuzzFeed Star Quinta Brunson Joins CW Drama Pilot," 21 Feb. 2018
Much of it was shot at music clubs in Boston, where Horenstein freelanced for Rounder Records.

— sam whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, "Sad country songs in photo show at Scott Nichols," 31 Jan. 2018

First Known Use of freelance

1902

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

FREELANCE Defined for English Language Learners

freelance

adjective

Definition of freelance for English Language Learners

: earning money by being hired to work on different jobs for short periods of time rather than by having a permanent job with one employer; also : done or produced by a freelance worker