adv. or adj. phr. 1. Not kept within walls, fences, or boundaries; free. The killer remained at large for weeks.
Compare: AT LIBERTY. Cattle and sheep roamed at large on the big ranch. 2. In a broad, general way; at length; fully. The superintendent talked at large for an hour about his hopes for a new school building. 3. As a group rather than as individuals; as a whole; taken together. The junior class at large was not interested in a senior yearbook. 4. As a representative of a whole political unit or area rather than one of its parts; from a city rather than one of its wards, or a state rather than one of its districts. He was elected congressman at large. Aldermen are voted for at large.