free rein

noun
1.
unhampered freedom of movement, choice, or action:
Students have free rein to choose their own class schedules.
Origin
1950-55
Examples from the web for free rein
  • He is warning against giving our unconscious decisions free rein.
  • His convoy had free rein on the highways, which had been cleared for utility vehicles.
  • However, the urban portion does not give hunters free rein to hunt anywhere in an urban county.
  • He will surmise that he has free rein to rebuild his arsenal of destruction.
  • Section allows free rein to examine, interpret, and qualify results.
  • We can't allow special interests to take free rein again.
  • Whoever is going to be doing the work has to have free rein to do it, and to be working on it continuously.
Idioms and Phrases with free rein

free rein

see: free hand