How to Use free rein in a Sentence

free rein

noun
  • Give your kid free rein of the kitchen to make their own snack or lunch.
    — Amy Schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 26 May 2021
  • Then, customers have free rein to pick what to put in their bowls.
    — Jason Fontelieu, Baltimore Sun, 16 Aug. 2023
  • This wastes seed and puts it on the ground where the rodents of the area have free rein.
    — Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Oct. 2020
  • Plus, its cordless design gives you free rein to clean all over.
    — Clara McMahon, PEOPLE, 22 June 2026
  • The two may not have been scared, but that didn't mean they were allowed free rein on the set.
    — Alexia Fernández, Peoplemag, 25 Oct. 2022
  • This gives your team free rein inside the process while meeting the client’s needs.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2021
  • As the stylebook reminds us, seize the reins, give free rein to, put a rein on.
    — WSJ, 12 Jan. 2023
  • And even on teams where players are given free rein, some still choose to dress up.
    — Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Governments don’t need to keep giving them free rein to chase it.
    — Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 14 Apr. 2023
  • Want to imagine life if the public-health oligarchy had free rein?
    — Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, 15 Apr. 2021
  • Any more open windows and the flies swarming outside would have free rein.
    — Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2022
  • For three years he’s been given free rein to create shots for himself.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2022
  • Legally, platforms have very free rein to take down user speech.
    — Emily Stewart, Vox, 23 Aug. 2018
  • Other than that constraint, the chefs had free rein over their burgers.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 20 May 2026
  • But never again will someone have free rein to do it in the Times’ own pages.
    — Will Oremus, Slate Magazine, 31 May 2017
  • Guests get free rein of the open-air yoga platform when there isn't a class in session.
    — Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 19 July 2023
  • The Russian air force doesn't have free rein over the entire country.
    — CBS News, 8 May 2022
  • There they were given free rein to forage for food for 50 minutes.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 1 Jan. 2023
  • That gives free rein to the drug dealers, the human traffickers.
    — Fox News Staff, Fox News, 1 July 2021
  • The entire episode was his playground–Michelle gave him free rein to spearhead it.
    — Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 17 Apr. 2024
  • James was afraid to give his inclinations free rein — or, indeed, any rein at all.
    — Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2021
  • Willetts, meanwhile, had free rein to enter their yard unannounced to pick fruit off their trees.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Pastoralists, who once had free rein of Kenya’s lands, must deal with the same challenges.
    — Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2020
  • Participants have free rein on how to utilize the theme in their essay.
    — courant.com, 25 Sep. 2019
  • But mostly, Feldstein had free rein to make the character her own.
    — Anna Silman, The Cut, 19 Jan. 2018
  • Unlike the cats of Istanbul, the dogs didn’t always have free rein of the city.
    — Peter Keough, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Feb. 2021
  • And the candidates have free rein to question and challenge each other.
    — cleveland, 1 Oct. 2022
  • Opt for a cordless vacuum, which gives you free rein of the house — no cords trailing behind you.
    — Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 28 July 2023
  • And once inside, the riders have free rein in the speaker of the House’s offices.
    — New York Times, 10 Feb. 2021
  • Phillips was given free rein here, and Gunn and Safran aren’t credited.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'free rein.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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