Meanings
nounfree electron (plural free electrons)
plural free electrons
- chemistryAn electron not attached to an atom.
- figurativelygovernmentA person who acts independently of the organization to which they belong.
Haley was a free electron, which she had obviously gotten used to, communicating directly with Trump.
2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 711 more example
She has been called a “free electron” in politics because of her sometimes independent stances apart from party politics.
2012 October 22, Lolita Buckner-Inniss, “Christiane Taubira”, in Black Past
Translations
Bulgarian свободен електрон
- свободен електрон (svoboden elektron)electron not attached to an atom
Chinese Mandarin 自由電子 /自由电子
- 自由電子 /自由电子 (zìyóu diànzǐ)electron not attached to an atom
Finnish vapaa elektroni
- vapaa elektronielectron not attached to an atom
French électron libre
- électron libreelectron not attached to an atom
Greek ελεύθερο ηλεκτρόνιο
- ελεύθερο ηλεκτρόνιο (eléfthero ilektrónio)electron not attached to an atom
Polish elektron swobodny
- elektron swobodnyelectron not attached to an atom
Portuguese eletrão livre
- eletrão livreelectron not attached to an atom
Cite this entry
APA
free electron. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/free%20electron
MLA
“free electron.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/free%20electron. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “free electron,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/free%20electron.
Source: free electron on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.