Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb Without
paying . - adverb figuratively Without effort; as a useful side-effect of something that was to be done anyway.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb without payment
Etymologies
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Examples
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planner commented on the word for free
The use of "for free" in (mostly advertising) copy is not correct. In the context of pricing or cost, "free", like "cheap", is an adjective. You would not say "You can get things here for cheap" and you should not say "You can get things here for free". "For" is a preposition and can only be followed by certain words or phrases. (e.g. This is for you. And: This blade is used for cutting some of our toughest materials). Like the words "slow" and "slim", "free" can either be an adjective (e.g. Get your free sample here) or a verb (e.g. I will free the bird from its cage), but it is not the kind of word - such as a noun or a pronoun - that can be preceded by a preposition.
June 27, 2009