free ride
nounDefinition of free ride
1
: a benefit obtained at another's expense or without the usual cost or effort
… a group of students who have been assigned to do a report where only one student cares, does all the work and the others go along for a free ride …— Roger T. Johnson and David W. Johnson
also
: soft or easy treatment
Generally speaking, the press has given Jacobson a free ride. — Spy
2
: an arrangement (such as a scholarship) providing a student with tuition at no cost
athletes getting a free ride at college College officials hope that the idea of a free ride to a new engineering school with lofty ambitions will attract a highly accomplished student body …— Jeffrey Mervis
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Examples of free ride in a Sentence
The state university offered him a free ride for all four years of college—his football scholarship would cover tuition, room and board, and other expenses.
companies getting a free ride at the taxpayer's expense
Recent Examples on the Web
That’s why Higbee is so adamant about embracing a program that provided more than 340,000 free rides to and from treatment facilities in the U.S. last year, according to the American Cancer Society. — Nelson Coffin, baltimoresun.com, "Driving Force: Towson resident delivers cancer patients to treatment through Road to Recovery program," 4 Sep. 2019 In another allegation, a blind woman took a Lyft to the grocery store in the middle of the day; the driver then offered her a free ride home that was not ordered through the Lyft app, and forced himself into her home to rape her, the suit alleges. — Sara Ashley O'brien, CNN, "14 women sue Lyft for allegedly mishandling sexual assault and rape reports," 4 Sep. 2019 Helbiz has proposed awarding customers starting or ending trips along key transit lines with discounts or free rides to encourage last-mile commutes. — Mallory Moench, SFChronicle.com, "The next great wave of scooters could soon roll into SF," 23 Aug. 2019 In a city that fought over whether the D.C. Circulator should offer free rides indefinitely, a shuttle service that will help homeless children get to and from school seems a reasonable ask. — Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, "Homeless children in hotels are struggling to get to school, a group learned. It now wants District officials to consider: If tourists get shuttles, shouldn’t they?," 21 Aug. 2019 Last Name Email Firefly offers free rides on its first launch. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Rocket Report: Falcon Heavy ready to fly, Stratolaunch plane put up for sale," 21 June 2019 Cheh said Bowser failed to prove the free rides were benefiting the District’s lowest-income residents. — Luz Lazo, Washington Post, "Mayor Bowser is using Twitter in her fight to keep the DC Circulator free," 24 Aug. 2019 The free ride is over for nearly a hundred Rhode Islanders who registered their cars at an empty field in Jefferson, Maine. — Amanda Milkovits, BostonGlobe.com, "The ticket’s in the mail. Providence tracks down 99 R.I. motorists who registered their cars in Maine.," 22 July 2019 Bryan Luellen, IndyGo vice president of public affairs, said the free rides are a gesture to the the public for its patience during construction. — Kellie Hwang, Indianapolis Star, "Red Line will be free to ride for its first month," 18 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'free ride.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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