AT LARGE

{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./