liberty

«liberty» in Mova's school dictionary: freedom: the right to live, speak and act as you choose… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (liberty, liberties)

meaning for a pupil

1) Liberty is freedom: the right to live, speak and act as you choose without being controlled or imprisoned unfairly. tree →

2) At liberty means free, not in prison; or (formal) allowed to do something: I am not at liberty to say. tree →

3) A liberty is a cheeky or rude act; taking a liberty means doing something without permission. tree →

sense in the lessons

In history and citizenship: the Statue of Liberty, liberty and justice, the fight for liberty. In everyday life (UK): «What a liberty!» or «He took liberties» about cheeky behaviour. Formal: «I took the liberty of booking a table» means I did it without asking first.

examples

• The Statue of Liberty stands in New York harbour. tree →
• People have fought hard for liberty. tree →
• The escaped tiger is still at liberty. tree →
• I'm not at liberty to tell you the secret. tree →
• I took the liberty of borrowing your pen. tree →
• Eating my last biscuit — what a liberty! tree →
• Liberty includes the freedom to speak your mind. tree →
• There is nothing worth so much as liberty. tree →

note

Plural: liberties. Phrases: at liberty, take liberties, take the liberty of. Synonym: freedom; «liberty» is more formal and often used for rights.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «liberty» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.