Word.ws English Dictionary

freeloader

/ˈfɹiːləʊdə(ɹ)/US/ˈfɹiloʊdɚ/

freeloader noun: one who does not contribute or pay appropriately; one who gets a free ride, etc. without paying a fair share.

Noun

freeloader (plural freeloaders)

  1. (colloquial) One who does not contribute or pay appropriately; one who gets a free ride, etc. without paying a fair share.
  2. (Canada, New Zealand, UK) A person who takes expired unsold merchandise from the back of supermarket premises.

Synonyms of freeloader

7 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Forms of freeloader

pluralfreeloaders
alternative formfree-loader

Origin of freeloader

From free + load + -er, originally US 1930s.

Words formed from freeloader

Phrases with freeloader

Questions about freeloader

What does freeloader mean?
Freeloader means one who does not contribute or pay appropriately; one who gets a free ride, etc. without paying a fair share.
What part of speech is freeloader?
Freeloader is a noun.
How do you pronounce freeloader?
Freeloader is pronounced /ˈfɹiːləʊdə(ɹ)/ (UK).
What is the plural of freeloader?
The plural of freeloader is freeloaders.

Words near freeloader in the dictionary

  1. freelining
  2. freelist
  3. freelists
  4. freeload
  5. freeloaded
  6. freeloader
  7. freeloader flies
  8. freeloader fly
  9. freeloaders
  10. freeloading
  11. freeloads

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: freeloader (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-freeloader.wav.

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