Word.ws English Dictionary

at large

at large prepositional phrase: on the loose; roaming freely; not confined.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (idiomatic) On the loose; roaming freely; not confined.
    • For a nervous twenty-four hours, three wanted criminals were at large in the city.
    • The ambassador-at-large was designated to the Middle East as a region, rather than to a specific country.
  2. (obsolete) In full, fully.
    • The like example I find in Lælius à Fonte Eugubinus, consult. 129 […]. Read in him the story at large., vol.I, New York 2001, p.236
    Synonyms:
    entirely, in full, wholly
  3. In general; as a whole.
    • Some people support the measure, but the community at large will probably be against it.
  4. (US) Having an electorate across multiple districts.
    • The city has five city council districts; however, the mayor is elected at large.
    • Although the elections for Boston City Council seats are still seven months away, the race between at-large candidates is beginning to heat up.1991 May 4, Elizabeth Yukins, “City Council Candidates Lobby For The Gay Vote”, in Gay Community News, page 3

at large meaning in Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada

at large in Urdu

آزاد, بھاگا ہوا

at large in Malayalam

free, at liberty, (on the) loose
സ്വതന്ത്രമായി വിഹരിക്കുന്ന, ഒളിച്ചോടിയ, ഓടിക്കളഞ്ഞ, കടന്നുകളഞ്ഞ, പിടികൊടുക്കാതെ നടക്കുന്ന, ചാടിപ്പോയ
as a whole, generally, in general
ആകപ്പാടെ, മൊത്തമായി, പരക്കെ, ഒന്നായ നിലയിൽ, പൊതുവേ പൂർണ്ണമായി, മുഴുവനായി
in detail, exhaustively, at length
വിസ്തരിച്ച്, സവിസ്തരം, വിശമായി, നിരാകുലം, ആവിസ്തരം, ആവിസ്താരം

at large in Kannada

ಇಡೀ, ಸಮಷ್ಟಿಯಾಗಿ, ಅನಿರ್ಬಂಧಿತವಾಗಿ, ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರವಾಗಿ

Examples of at large in a sentence

  • I can't think how she came to be at large," she said.1902, E. Nesbit, Five Children and It:
  • Officials say the unknown male suspect is still at large and request anyone with information regarding the case to contact Crimeline at (800) 423-8477.2024 December 27, Leah Sarnoff, “Pregnant woman stabbed 14 times by pizza delivery driver over $2 tip: Police”, in abcnews.go.com:

Synonyms of at large

Forms of at large

alternative format-large

Origin of at large

From Middle English at large (“at liberty or freedom”) (compare Middle English ben at large (“to be at one's liberty, be free”)). Compare Old French au large (“at liberty” and other senses).

Words formed from at large

Questions about at large

What does at large mean?
At large means on the loose; roaming freely; not confined.
What is at large in Urdu?
At large in Urdu is آزاد, بھاگا ہوا. See At large meaning in Urdu.
How do you use at large in a sentence?
I can't think how she came to be at large," she said.
What part of speech is at large?
At large is a prepositional phrase.

Words near at large in the dictionary

  1. at homes
  2. at intervals
  3. at issue
  4. at it
  5. at knifepoint
  6. at large
  7. at last
  8. at latter Lammas
  9. at least
  10. at leisure
  11. at length

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: at large (page history and authors); at large (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); at large (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); at large (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-at large.ogg.

Cite this entry: “at large.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/at_large. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.