free rider

as in parasite
a person who is supported by or seeks support from another without making an adequate return During their fundraising campaign, the public radio station encouraged listeners not to be free riders.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for free rider
Noun
  • Thanks to modern medicine, people in the United States rarely deal with parasites.
    Breanne Hayes Haney, The Conversation, 14 Apr. 2025
  • This LifeStraw, 20 percent off for a pack of two, is proven to filter out 99.9 percent of waterborne bacteria and parasites.
    Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 10 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Others are the survivors of deceased workers, people with disabilities or the dependents of disabled workers.
    Dennis W. Jansen, The Conversation, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The Recovery Rebate Credit also applies to qualifying dependents claimed on a tax return.
    Brian Sloan, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Never submerge in water to wash them because mushrooms absorb like a sponge and become mushy.
    Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 14 Apr. 2025
  • In water as much as 4,200 feet deep the team from the Schmidt Ocean Institute found a surprisingly flourishing ecosystem that included icefish, giant sea spiders, octopus, corals and sponges.
    Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 13 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • His other performances included as Robert De Niro’s nasty henchman in Michael Mann’s Heat (1995); as Marlon Brando’s insane assistant in John Frankenheimer’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and as the suave crook Simon Templar in Phillip Noyce’s The Saint (1997).
    Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2025
  • The not-so-grand finale of Reacher’s third season opens with a gun battle that leaves an entire ATF Special Response Team dead, along with a commensurate number of henchmen that Quinn flew in from somewhere.
    Chris Klimek, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Free rider.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/free%20rider. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!