Meaning & use
interest-free
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Not requiring any extra money to be paid back on top of the amount borrowed.
Grammar: Used before a noun, as in an interest-free loan.
Patterns
- interest-free loan
- interest-free period
- interest-free credit
The store offers an interest-free payment plan for large purchases.
She took out an interest-free loan from her parents to buy a car.
Many credit cards give you an interest-free period of up to 30 days.
Common combinations
- interest-free loan
- The bank gave him an interest-free loan to start his business.
- interest-free period
- The card has an interest-free period of 12 months on balance transfers.
- interest-free credit
- Buy now and pay later with interest-free credit.
Synonyms and how they differ
- free of interest
- More formal and less common; interest-free is the standard term.
- zero-interest
- Often used in advertising, but can sound more technical.
Opposites
Word family
- interest noun
- The extra money paid for borrowing money.
- interest-free adjective
- Without interest.
Commonly confused: interest-free or interesting?
interest-free vs interesting
Means 'holding your attention'; interest-free is about money.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'interest-free' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Interest-free means no interest is charged. Option 0 is correct because it says no extra money was paid. The others suggest interest or fees, which contradicts the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “interest-free”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.