at large
prepositional phrase
Forms at-large
- prepositional phrase (idiomatic) On the loose; roaming freely; not confined. “For a nervous twenty-four hours, three wanted criminals were at large in the city.”
- prepositional phrase (obsolete) In full, fully.
- prepositional phrase In general; as a whole. “Some people support the measure, but the community at large will probably be against it.”
- prepositional phrase (US, politics, of an election or elected position) Having an electorate across multiple districts. “The city has five city council districts; however, the mayor is elected at large.”
Synonyms
in the wild on the loose on the run on the lam entirely in full wholly generally in general escaped loose in a broad way
Etymology
From Middle English at large (“at liberty or freedom”) (compare Middle English ben at large (“to be at one's liberty, be free”)). Compare Old French au large (“at liberty” and other senses).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “at large”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details