freestyle

1 of 2

noun

free·​style ˈfrē-ˌstī(-ə)l 

plural freestyles

1

: a competition in which the contestant is given more freedom of choice than in related events

BMX freestyle … makes its Olympic debut on Saturday.

—Gretchen Reynolds

especially : a swimming competition in which the swimmer may use any stroke

This week … she won her three best races—the 400-meter, 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyles.

—Frank Litsky

—often used before another noun

the 200-yard freestyle relay

the women's freestyle competition

2

or freestyle stroke : a fast swimming stroke executed in a prone position with alternating overarm strokes and a flutter kick : crawl sense 2

Freestyle is the fastest of the competitive strokes.

—Ruben Guzman

… I alternate between freestyle and breaststroke, enjoying the view of the sandy beach and its swimmers.

—Bonnie Tsui

Her freestyle stroke was smooth and effortless, her arms slipping slowly, quietly in the water.

—Bob Putnam

3

: an improvised performance especially of a rap (see rap entry 5 sense 2b)

… signed Sonja to his label on the strength of a one-verse freestyle.

—Durwin Chow

The rapper was lured into a recording booth at around five … and he improvised a pitch-perfect freestyle, in one take.

—Nate Chinen

—often used before another noun

freestyle rap

… the freestyle moves of African-American and Latin dancers as they personalized the twist in the early '60s.

—Marc Myers

freestyle

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verb

freestyled; freestyling; freestyles

1

transitive + intransitive : to improvise something (such as a song, speech, or dance)

… [rapper] Common deviated from his set lyrics and freestyled, spontaneously drawing on an endless supply of inventive rhymes that elicited wild cheers from his fans.

—Joshua Klein

… I completely forgot all of the lyrics to the song and just started freestyling.

—Utkarsh Ambudkar, quoted in The Chicago Tribune

Plans are good—if you're hosting people it is (usually) better to have a plan than to freestyle a meal for six.

—Eleanor Steafel

The trio freestyled and shouted their playful rhymes with equal parts bravado and humor.

—Cheo Hodari Coker

2

intransitive : to participate in a freestyle (see freestyle entry 1 sense 1) competition

Some of the riders were doing great just to get over the obstacles without falling. The more advanced ones though were flying and twisting through the air as they freestyled.

—Maria St. Louis-Sanchez

3

intransitive : to swim using the freestyle stroke (see freestyle entry 1 sense 2)

… lifeguards huddled in sweats to watch early-morning swimmers freestyle through the misting water.

—Laura Johnston

freestyler noun

plural freestylers

Like a number of resorts throughout the country, Mammoth recently built its freestylers a snowboard park …

—Bucky McMahon

The swimmer they watched perform there was … the best freestyler in the U.S. at distances of 200 through 1,500 meters.

—Pat Forde

Being slick with the pen and a sublime freestyler are not skills that Lola Brooke picked up overnight. Starting at eight years old, using words to express herself was an outlet …

—Desjah Altvater

Examples of freestyle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The 22-year-old with 15 NCAA titles is the American record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke and 50-meter freestyle in long course. —Paras J. Haji, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

Lia Thomas, the 6-foot-1 University of Pennsylvania swimmer who switched from the men's team to the women's in 2022, was markedly slower after medically transitioning but still won the NCAA championship in the 500-yard freestyle. —Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 31 Oct. 2024

Verb

Is that the same sister that was freestyling about you not wanting to go to school on your album? —Angel Diaz, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2024

The two of them tried to freestyle in sync after a brief swimming lesson. —Bryan Alexander, The Indianapolis Star, 31 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

derivative of freestyle entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1913, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing freestyle

• freestyle stroke

Kids Definition

freestyle

noun

free·​style -ˌstīl 

: a competition (as a swimming race) in which the competitors are not restricted to a certain way of performing