freelancer

noun

free·​lanc·​er ˈfrē-ˌlan(t)-sər 

plural freelancers

1

: a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer : freelance sense 1

hired a freelancer to write the article

… there were hundreds of photographers on the scene, some on assignment, some freelancers, most of them amateurs.

—Garrison Keillor

But while Renzo is the ultimate company man, a lifetime employee who reports to the same office every morning, Riccardo is the prototypical freelancer, a peripatetic problem-solver with five-dozen clients.

—Bruce Schoenfeld

2

: a person who acts independently without being affiliated with or authorized by an organization : freelance sense 2b

[Anthony] Grafton contrasts public intellectuals outside and inside the universities, and he takes note of today's nostalgia for the freethinkers who lived and wrote independently of deans and classrooms. But it is good to be reminded that in that golden era of freelancers such as Wilson, H. L. Mencken, and Mary McCarthy, voices like theirs were also raised in universities.

—G. W. Bowersock

Examples of freelancer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That can provide flexibility for the fluctuations in income that freelancers, gig workers and artists often need to navigate, Haigh says. —Talia Wexler, CNBC, 25 July 2025

Be the freelancer your clients can’t imagine working without. —Renae Gregoire, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025

Below, members of Forbes Business Council offer tips to help solopreneurs and freelancers effectively deal with slow-paying and non-paying clients. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025

Eligibility and details Applicants should have extensive journalism experience as a student, freelancer and/or intern in a professional newsroom, and a portfolio of their work to share. —Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 10 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for freelancer

• enhancer
• merganser
• romancer
• anser
• answer
• cancer
• dancer
• lancer
• anticancer
• necromancer