1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

free riders

noun

plural of free rider
as in parasites
a person who is supported by or seeks support from another without making an adequate return During their fundraising campaign, the public radio station encouraged listeners not to be free riders.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for free riders
  1. parasites
  2. henchmen
Noun
  • The final step is ultraviolet disinfection, which uses high-intensity ultraviolet light to kill or inactivate viruses and parasites, such as giardia.
    — Piper Heath, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The fish, having been medicated by this point, would have weakened immune systems unable to protect them against parasites.
    — John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of parasites
Noun
  • One of the senior henchmen of right-wing Christian politics saw this dangerous transformation unfolding from the inside.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026
  • While Sanji and Chopper fight off various henchmen, Luffy battles Wapol and eventually beats him with Sanj’s help.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of henchmen
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

free rider
free riders
frees
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Free riders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/free%20riders. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All