Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Working independently for various clients: Describes work done on a project-by-project basis for multiple employers, rather than being a permanent employee of a single organization.
   • Serving for wages in a foreign army: (Less common, historical) Describes a soldier who fights for a foreign military force for payment, not out of national loyalty.

2. Noun:

   • An independent worker: A person, especially a writer, artist, or consultant, who sells their services to different employers without a long-term contract with any single one.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • She works as a free-lance graphic designer. (She is not employed by one company but takes projects from many.)
  • The magazine hired a free-lance journalist to cover the story. (The journalist was hired for that specific assignment only.)
  • (Historical) The army was supplemented by free-lance mercenaries. (The army included paid soldiers from other countries.)

• Noun:

  • He is a successful free-lance, with clients across the industry. (He is a successful independent contractor.)
  • The company often hires free-lances for short-term projects. (The company often hires independent contractors.)

Advanced Usage

• "to free-lance" (verb, less common): To work as a free-lance.
  • After leaving the firm, she decided to free-lance. (She decided to work independently for various clients.)

Variants and Related Words

• Freelance (adj, n, v): The more common modern spelling, identical in meaning to "free-lance."
• Freelancer (n): A person who works as a freelance. (e.g., )
• Freelancing (n): The act or practice of working as a freelance. (e.g., )

Synonyms

• Independent contractor: A formal term for a person hired for a specific job, not as an employee.
• Self-employed: Working for oneself rather than for an employer.
• Consultant: An expert who provides professional advice, often on a freelance basis.
• Mercenary (for the historical adjective sense): A professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.

Related Phrases

• To go freelance: To leave permanent employment to start working independently.
  • After ten years at the agency, she decided to go freelance.
• Freelance work: Work done on a freelance basis.
  • He finds most of his freelance work online.

Adjective

1. serving for wages in a foreign army
   • mercenary killers
2. working for yourself

Noun

1. a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them