free rider

Definitions

1. 1

   One who gets a free ride on a ship, or similar

   One who gets a free ride on a ship, or similar; one who rides on a means of transportation gratis.

2. 2

   Someone who obtains goods or services legally without paying.

   • The store failed because all of the manager's friends were free riders who drove paying customers away.
3. 3

   One who obtains benefit from a public good without paying for it directly.

   • A lighthouse is the classic example of a public good because it is difficult to prevent a ship (a free rider) from using it.
   • Trump also promises to attack the sources abroad that he blames for the country’s malaise: economic interdependence, transnational criminals, traditional allies he sees as free riders on America’s long-running global beneficence.
4. ›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer

   1. 4

      A worker at an open shop who is able to enjoy the benefits negotiated by a union without…

      A worker at an open shop who is able to enjoy the benefits negotiated by a union without being a member of the union.

The neighborhood