Freeware is computer software that you do not have to pay for. You can often download it from the internet and use it at no cost. The free here is about the price. Though actually, that is not the same as “free software” in the older computing sense, which is about freedom: you may look at the code, change it, and share it. Freeware can still be closed — the maker may not let you change it; they just do not charge you. It is also not shareware, which often lets you try a program and then asks you to pay. The word is free plus -ware (a short piece of software), and it was coined by Andrew Fluegelman.