free reins
free reins is the plural of free rein.
Meaning of free rein
Noun
free rein (plural (dated) free reins)
- A rein of a horse held loosely so that the animal can move more freely; also, the free condition that this gives to a horse.
- I needed no whip, or spur, for I was as eager as my rider: he saw it, and giving me a free rein, and leaning a little forward, we dashed after them.[1877], Anna Sewell, “The Lady Anne, or a Runaway Horse”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 113
- The absence of constraints; freedom to act, decide, or speak.
- to give [a] free rein to
- Synonyms:
- blank check, blank cheque, carte blanche, free hand, proxy in blank
Questions about free reins
- What is free reins the plural of?
- Free reins is the plural of free rein.
Words near free reins in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: free reins (page history and authors); free rein (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:
Cite this entry: “free reins.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/free_reins. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.