free rein
/ˌfɹi ˈɹeɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.37 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "I needed no whip, or spur, for I was as eager as my rider: he saw it, and giving me a free rein, and leaning a little forward, we dashed after them."
- "[I]n the rise during the leap, just previous to the spring, no efforts whatever must be made by the rider to support the horse, or to lift him, but instead, she should simply hold the reins so lightly that his mouth can just be felt, which is called "giving a free rein.""
- "So ceased the sea's uproar, when its grave Sire / Looked o'er th' expanse, and, riding on in light, / Flung free rein to his winged obedient car."
- "to give [a] free rein to"
- "[H]e vvas pleas'd to lend / Free reines to mirth, and to ſuſpend thoſe cares / That claime ſuch intereſt in th' Imperiall brovv."
- "[Geoffrey] Chaucer gave a free rein to his poetical mirth."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌfɹi ˈɹeɪn/
- British English: /ˌfɹiː ˈɹeɪn/