free

Free is an adjective with several related senses that are sometimes overlapping. In everyday usage, free commonly means without cost: something offered free of charge, gratis. It also means not restricted or confined, as in free to move or free from constraints. A further sense relates to liberty or autonomy: being free from oppression or coercion, or the ability to act according to one’s will. The word’s philosophical and political uses distinguish negative liberty (freedom from interference) from positive liberty (freedom to pursue one’s aims). The term has Old English origins in frea, from Germanic roots meaning not bound or owned, and it has evolved to cover economic, political, and moral dimensions.

In economics, free can describe goods that are not scarce and thus have no opportunity cost, or offerings that have zero price. It is also used in phrases such as free markets and free trade, where transactions are guided by voluntary exchange with minimal regulatory barriers. In politics and law, freedom is a central value underpinning civil rights, democratic norms, and protections for freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly. Debates often focus on balancing individual freedom with social order and welfare.

In technology and culture, free has a specialized sense in free software and the free culture movement, defined by the ability to use, study, modify, and distribute works. This conception is promoted by organizations such as the Free Software Foundation and is commonly associated with licenses like the GNU General Public License. The idea of free knowledge and free access likewise emphasizes openness over proprietary control.

Overall, free encompasses a family of related meanings tied to absence of cost, absence of constraint, and autonomy, with context shaping its exact interpretation.