duty-free

adjective or adverb

ˌdü-tē-ˈfrē 

ˌdyü-,

ˈd(y)ü-tē-ˌfrē

1

: without payment of customs duties : free from duties

imported duty-free

duty-free goods

2

: relating to or selling duty-free goods

a duty-free shop

Examples of duty-free in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This week, a number of the continent’s trade emissaries and heads of state have pushed for an expeditious extension of the program’s benefits—namely, duty-free access to the United States market for more than 1,800 products from 32 countries. —Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 26 Sep. 2025

While not every passenger is onboard to party, the cruise ferry features a show lounge, bars open late into the night and a sizable duty-free store. —David Nikel, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

But recent changes — which saw China grant 53 African nations duty-free access to its markets, as of June — have altered Beijing’s trade relationship with Africa. —Paige Bruton, semafor.com, 1 Sep. 2025

And someone abroad can send a gift of $100 or less to the United States duty-free. —Kayla Steinberg, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1689, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for duty-free

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy