Origin: Latin suffix -ance
Freelance has 7 different meanings across 3 categories:
a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them
"The freelance photographer travels between cities, selling images to various magazines without signing an exclusive contract."
Someone who sells their services to clients without a long-term employment contract.
"The graphic designer works as a freelancer, taking on different projects from various companies instead of being hired by a single firm."
In plain English: A freelancer is someone who works for themselves instead of having just one boss at an office job.
"The freelance journalist landed her first story with an online newspaper in just three days."
Usage: Use the noun form to refer specifically to an independent worker hired by multiple clients rather than one employer. Do not confuse this role with that of a full-time employee who works under a permanent contract for a single company.
work independently and on temporary contracts rather than for a long-term employer
"After years at a large agency, she decided to go freelance so she could take short-term projects from various clients."
To work as a freelance.
"She decided to freelance after leaving her full-time job at the newspaper."
working for yourself
"As a freelance writer, she sets her own hours and bills clients directly without being employed by an agency."
Of, or relating to a freelance; without employment contract.
"The freelance reporter worked on deadline stories without any long-term employment contract."
In plain English: Freelance describes someone who works for different clients independently instead of having just one permanent boss.
"She is looking for work with freelance journalists who need help editing their stories."
The word "freelance" was coined in 1819 to describe a medieval mercenary warrior who served no specific lord because his lance remained free. By the mid-1800s, it shifted from this literal military meaning to refer figuratively to someone working without permanent employment.