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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Emily Shiffer Emily Shiffer is a former digital web producer for Men’s Health and Prevention, and is currently a freelancer writer specializing in health, weight loss, and fitness. —Emily Shiffer, Women's Health, 18 May 2023

Barbara Bellesi Zito is a freelancer with over 18 years of experience as a writer, editor, and social media consultant for regional and national brands, including Health.com, Forbes Advisor, and Insider. —Barbara Bellesi Zito, Peoplemag, 9 May 2023

Moreover, the trade association pushed back against WGA language that compares writers to freelancers in a gig economy. —Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 May 2023

According to workers from across the film and TV industry, many members of the cast and crew work as freelancers who earn their living from a succession of gigs. —Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2023

Saif Mohamed Othman, 51, a freelancer who resides in Shambat, North Bahri, told CNN on Tuesday that food stocks have run out in stores, made worse by the complete burning of the central market, which supplies large parts of Bahri with vegetables, meat and other food. —Rob Picheta, CNN, 25 Apr. 2023

Since there is no central company taking a large cut of freelancers’ earnings for providing the service, workers retain more. —Li Jin, Fortune Crypto, 18 Apr. 2023

Shoott Founded by actor Jennifer Tsay, Shoott is a photography service that puts creatives and freelancers first. —Shanon Maglente, Good Housekeeping, 24 Mar. 2023

Once the fentanyl arrives in North Texas, freelancers, gangs and other street dealers handle sales to retail customers. —Kevin Krause, Dallas News, 23 Mar. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined at sense 1