duty-free

adjective or adverb

ˌdü-tē-ˈfrē How to pronounce duty-free (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The 10% tariffs came with a surprising twist: The elimination of the de minimis exclusion, a loophole that allows goods valued at less than $800 to come over the border duty-free. David Goldman, CNN, 5 Mar. 2025 However, according to the WTO’s 1994 Pharma Agreement, most pharmaceutical products and the substances used to produce them are exempt from tariffs, binding them at duty-free levels. Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 4 Mar. 2025 In 2005, the Herald reported on Pino’s decision to pull out of the duty-free concessions business at Miami International Airport, which had operated for a decade and drawn the attention of investigators and prosecutors. Jay Weaver and, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2025 Charlotte Amalie is a shopper’s paradise, with double the duty-free allowance of other Caribbean islands: $1,600 per person. Carol M. Bareuther, AFAR Media, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for duty-free

Word History

First Known Use

1689, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of duty-free was in 1689

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Duty-free.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duty-free. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!