Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A rapid swimming stroke consisting of alternating overarm strokes and a flutter kick; the crawl.
  • noun A swimming event or leg of an event in which the contestants may choose any stroke.
  • noun A competition, as in figure skating, skiing, or surfing, in which any maneuver or movement is allowed and competitors are judged on their artistic expression, acrobatic skill, and athleticism.
  • noun A style of wrestling in which all noninjurious holds or tactics are permitted.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A swimming event in which the contestants may choose any stroke.
  • noun By extension The swimming stroke commonly referred to as the front crawl or the Australian crawl.
  • noun A style of wrestling in which any non-injurious holds are permitted.
  • noun A sports event where competitors can choose their own method of participation.
  • noun A form of rapping in which the emcee makes up lyrics while rapping.
  • noun Modifying programming code in production and quality assurance environments, violating the existing procedures for promoting the same.
  • verb intransitive To improvise one's own style; to ad-lib (especially in rap music).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a race (as in swimming) in which each contestant has a free choice of the style to use

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

free + style

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Examples

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  • Swedish for "walkman"

    December 4, 2008

  • Ill Doctrine quotes an interview where Big Daddy Kane explains that "free style" raps were written, rather than "off the dome"; the term, he claims, is "free of style", where "style" means "about women, business, problems"; "a free style," he says, "is a rap you wrote."

    March 20, 2010