a race (as in swimming) in which each contestant has a free choice of the style to use
"In the freestyle leg of the relay, swimmers chose their fastest stroke regardless of whether it was front crawl or butterfly."
A sports event where competitors can choose their own method of participation.
"The gymnastics competition featured a freestyle round where athletes could design their own routines without strict constraints."
A swimming event in which the contestants may choose any stroke.
"The swimmer won the freestyle race by choosing butterfly strokes to maximize speed throughout the lap."
In plain English: Freestyle is when you do something without any rules, plan, or preparation.
"The swimmer decided to do freestyle because he wanted to finish the race quickly without following any specific technique rules."
Usage: As a noun, freestyle refers specifically to a competitive format allowing athletes or swimmers to select their preferred technique rather than following strict rules. Use this term when describing events where participants have the freedom to choose their method of execution.
To improvise one's own style; to ad-lib.
"During the jazz jam session, she decided to freestyle her vocals instead of sticking to the written lyrics."
In plain English: To freestyle means to do something without planning ahead, just going with whatever feels right in that moment.
"She decided to freestyle her way through the interview instead of reading from notes."
From free + style.