: completely free from obligation, harm, or penalty

Examples of scot-free in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The anecdote was based on a real event by Balboa Park, and the man who’d witnessed it was infuriated that the reckless driver appeared to escape scot-free while those without homes could be arrested for sleeping in tents. Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2024 The former president broke the judge’s rules but walked away scot-free. Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 12 Jan. 2024 Meanwhile, the forces fueling and making millions of dollars off of Milli Vanilli’s ruse got off scot-free, namely Farian, the supervillain-level mastermind behind it all. Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 27 Oct. 2023 There are a lot of people who think that the enablers got off scot-free, and Disney is a part of that. Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2023 Raylan suspected an episode ago that something had to be off for Clement to keep getting away scot-free over and over and over again. Evan Romano, Men's Health, 29 Aug. 2023 Security footage made the events look like a murder-suicide, leaving Emily off scot-free. Henry Chandonnet, Peoplemag, 20 July 2023 Whereas Alex eventually pays the ultimate price for her sins in the film, as Jackson points out, Dan essentially gets off scot-free. Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2023 After her husband and daughter's murderers get off scot-free, Riley disappears for five years. Stacey Grant, Seventeen, 22 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scot-free.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

scot

First Known Use

1528, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scot-free was in 1528

Dictionary Entries Near scot-free

Cite this Entry

“Scot-free.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scot-free. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

scot-free

adjective
ˈskät-ˈfrē
: completely free from duty, harm, or penalty
get off scot-free
Etymology

from earlier scot "money owed"

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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