freestyle

Etymology

From free + style.

noun

1. (sports) A sports event where competitors can choose their own method of participation.
   1. (swimming">swimming) A swimming">swimming event in which the contestants may choose any stroke.
      1. (swimming">swimming, by extension) The swimming">swimming stroke commonly referred to as the front crawl or the Australian crawl.
   2. (skiing) A cross-country skiing event in which the competitors may choose any style of skiing.
      1. (skiing, by extension) The skiing style commonly referred to as skating.
   3. (wrestling">wrestling) A style of wrestling">wrestling in which any non-injurious holds are permitted.
2. (music) A form of rapping in which the emcee makes up lyrics while performing.
   In the world of hip hop, many freestyle artists have been known to speak, “Check one, check two!” into the microphone. The phrasing serves two purposes: (1) to put the freestyle artist on rhythm with the beat and (2) […] 2014, Michael W. Waters, Freestyle: Reflections on Faith, Family, Justice, and Pop Culture, Fresh Air Books
3. (by extension, attributive) Anything done in an improvised or unrestricted way.
   (While there are definitely a large number of Japanese cookbooks out there with detailed instructions and measurements, it was this freestyle cooking philosophy I most frequently encountered.) 2012, Sarah Marx Feldner, A Cook's Journey to Japan: 100 Homestyle Recipes from Japanese Kitchens, Tuttle Publishing
4. (music) Ellipsis of Latin freestyle, a form of electronic dance music.
   A not always visibly but nevertheless significantly Latin music, freestyle originated alongside hip-hop in the Bronx and achieved a quicker yet more fleeting commercial success. The style’s similarities to contemporaneous R&B and hi-NRG endeared it to pop radio programmers, […] 2012-03-02, Nick Minichino, “A Quick Primer On Freestyle: 1980s Dancepop's Most Underheralded Genre”, in The Village Voice
   Already a veteran DJ-producer on New York’s freestyle scene, 23-year-old Frankie Bones was flown to England for an Energy rave. 2012, Simon Reynolds, Energy Flash, Soft Skull Press, page 281

verb

1. (intransitive, especially in rap music) To improvise one's own style; to ad-lib.
   And just hours after the famous golfer died in an airplane accident, I freestyled to a less talented rival, “Stop now before you get hurt / Your whole style should never take flight like Payne Stewart.” 2016, Jensen Karp, Kanye West Owes Me $300: And Other True Stories from a White Rapper Who Almost Made It Big, Crown, page 47
2. (intransitive) To improvise one's dance moves; dance freely.