freelancing

IPA/fɹˈiːlansɪŋ/
KK[frˈilˌænsɪŋ]IPA/frˈiːlˌænsɪŋ/

freelancing — noun

1. work done for different clients one job at a time, without staying as a regular

1.nounB2
Definition

work done for different clients one job at a time, without staying as a regular employee of one organization.

Example

After leaving the newspaper, Bao moved into freelancing from his apartment.

move into freelancing

Freelancing gave Putri enough freedom to travel between Jakarta and Taipei.

freelancing + give + freedom

Common collocations
  • do freelancing
  • go into freelancing
  • full-time freelancing
  • freelancing income
Synonyms
  • self-employment

    broader and more official; also covers running a business that is not project-based

  • contract work

    focuses on paid jobs with stated terms, not the whole lifestyle

  • gig work

    often suggests shorter, platform-based jobs rather than professional client projects

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

do freelancing

go into freelancing

freelancing in [field]

Usage Note

Usually uncountable when it means this way of working. Distinguish from verb sense 1, which describes the action someone does, and adjective sense 1, which describes a role, business, or lifestyle.

Common Mistakes

I do a freelancing for one bank.
I do freelancing for one bank.
this sense is usually uncountable, so do not use 'a' before it.

freelancing — adjective

freelancing — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Freelancing is the broad everyday word for doing paid projects for different clients without staying on one company's staff. Self-employment is wider and more official: it also covers people who run a shop, farm, or other business that is not based on separate client projects. Consulting is narrower and usually suggests giving expert advice, often in business, design, or technology. Moonlighting means doing extra paid work beside a main job, so a person may moonlight as a freelancer while still holding a salaried post. Use freelancing when the key idea is independent client work itself. A designer who leaves an agency to take direct projects is freelancing, while a teacher who builds websites on weekends is moonlighting as a freelancer.

freelancing ↗self-employmentconsulting ↗moonlighting ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • freelancing career
  • freelancing business
  • freelancing income
  • freelancing role

Phrases

  • go into freelancing
  • start freelancing
  • make a living from freelancing

Prepositions

  • freelancing for [client]
  • freelancing in [field]
  • freelancing from home

Etymology

Old EnglishOld FrenchEnglish

Freelancing comes from freelance, a word that first referred to a soldier who offered his services to any lord rather than to one master. The image was literally a 'free lance'. In the late 1800s English widened the word to writers and other workers who sold their skills to different clients. The -ing form later developed for the activity itself and for work done in that independent way.