Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense freelances, present participle freelancing, past tense, past participle freelanced
1. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Someone who does freelance work or who is, for example, a freelance journalist or photographer is not employed by one organization, but is paid for each piece of work they do by the organization they do it for.
[business]
Michael Cross is a freelance journalist.
Jill was starting to get some freelance writing jobs from trade magazines.
She had a baby and decided to go freelance.
Freelance is also an adverb.
He is now working freelance from his home in Hampshire.
2. countable noun
A freelance is the same as a freelancer.
3. verb
If you freelance, you do freelance work.
She has freelanced as a writer and researcher. [VERB + as]
[Also VERB]
freelance in British English
(ˈfriːˌlɑːns)
noun
1.
a. Also called: freelancer
a self-employed person, esp a writer or artist, who is not employed continuously but hired to do specific assignments
b.
(as modifier)
a freelance journalist
2.
a person, esp a politician, who supports several causes or parties without total commitment to any one
3.
(in medieval Europe) a mercenary soldier or adventurer
verb
4.
to work as a freelance on (an assignment, etc)
adverb
5.
as a freelance
Word origin
C19 (in sense 3): later applied to politicians, writers, etc
freelance in American English
(ˈfriˌlæns) or ˈfree-ˌlance (ˈfriˌlæns)
noun
1.
a writer, musician, artist, etc. who is not under contract for regular work but whose writings or services are sold to individual buyers
: also ˈfreeˌlancer, ˈfree-ˌlancer
adjective
2.
of or working as a freelance
verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈfreeˌlanced or ˈfreeˌlancing
3.
to work as a freelance
verb transitive
4.
to produce or work on as a freelance
Examples of 'freelance' in a sentence
freelance
After graduation she began to work as a freelance designer.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Now she's a 38-year-old freelance journalist.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
By then I'd gone freelance and had to pay for my own.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We have now changed our policy regarding the use of freelance journalists in stories such as these.
The Sun (2015)
The collection includes her freelance work and really does give us a better sense of her range.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The founder brought in freelance workers to answer the phones.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He had been due to go freelance this year.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Many freelance staff can now command higher wages than employed staff.
The Sun (2010)
Channel chiefs blamed it on freelance workers.
The Sun (2007)
We lit the fuse on my new career as a freelance jockey but it took an age to ignite.
Frankie Dettori with Jonathan Powell FRANKIE: The Autobiography of Frankie Dettori (2004)
She is also a freelance artist.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
Going freelance was the death knell.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Five million people now technically freelance.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
If you are a freelance writer, you should take particular note.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
For now, he still has to supplement his ebook income with freelance writing and editing jobs.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Since 2010 he has worked as a freelance artist.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
His international freelance career is enough to keep two choreographers in full-time employment.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
A handful of freelance photographers work inside the country, but none of the big names.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She's in her early thirties, a writer and freelance journalist like me.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Income About 2,000 a month before tax from freelance work.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
So, midlife, he has decided to launch himself as a buccaneering freelance journalist.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Finally in 1980 I became a freelance medical writer.
Kowalski, Robert E The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure (1990)
I ask her what will happen if I get a freelance assignment.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
freelance
British English: freelance /ˈfriːˌlɑːns/ ADJECTIVE
Someone who does freelance work or who is, for example, a freelance journalist or photographer is not employed by one organization, but is paid for each piece of work they do by the organization they do it for.
He is a freelance journalist.
American English: freelance
Arabic: مُسْتَقِلّ
Brazilian Portuguese: freelance
Chinese: 自由职业的
Croatian: nezavisan
Czech: na volné noze
Danish: freelance-
Dutch: freelance
European Spanish: por cuenta propia
Finnish: freelance-
French: indépendant
German: freiberuflich
Greek: ελεύθερος επαγγελματίας
Italian: indipendente
Japanese: 自由契約の
Korean: 자유계약의
Norwegian: frilans-
Polish: wolny strzelec
European Portuguese: freelance
Romanian: activitate independentă
Russian: внештатный
Latin American Spanish: por cuenta propia
Swedish: frilansare
Thai: ที่ทำงานอิสระ
Turkish: bağımsız
Ukrainian: позаштатний
Vietnamese: làm tự do
British English: freelance /ˈfriːˌlɑːns/ ADVERB
If someone works freelance, they are not employed by one organization, but are paid for each piece of work they do by the organization they do it for.