How to Use free solo in a Sentence

free solo

noun
  • Honnold was the first to free solo Yosemite’s El Capitan.
    — John Meyer, Denver Post, 28 May 2026
  • Skyscraper Live doesn’t mark the first time Honnold has been in the spotlight for his free solo climbing skills.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Whatever the case may be, the Skyscraper Live climb will mark a first for the iconic free solo rock climber.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Nitya also performed a free solo routine to mark her final season before college.
    — News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Although the free solo itself could only happen once, the production around it was rehearsed in the days leading up to the live broadcast.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Exposing your skin becomes a lifestyle choice in the same risk-seeking category as free solo rock climbing.
    — Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
  • That seems to be a decent audience for the live event in which Honnold accomplished a lifelong dream and set a record for the tallest urban free solo climb in the world.
    — Katie Campione, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2026
  • The mortality rate for free solo climbers is a fact Honnold casually accepts.
    — Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Feb. 2026
  • People like Robinson and Maguire worry about Honnold continuing to free solo climb.
    — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 5 Feb. 2026
  • When all was said and done, Honnold’s free solo climb of the 1,667-foot skyscraper without the use of ropes or nets took 1 hour and 31 minutes.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Dean Potter was one of the most notable names in the world of climbing, a free solo pioneer who courted controversy by scaling rock formations not meant for humans.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 10 Apr. 2026
  • In 2008, Honnold became the first person to free solo Half Dome in Yosemite, a feat Potter was training for.
    — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 9 May 2026
  • Shortly before Sacramento-area native Alex Honnold was scheduled to free solo climb a Taiwanese skyscraper live on Netflix, the streamer confirmed that the event had been postponed.
    — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Drift, a documentary about free solo skyscraper climber-photographer Isaac Wright, aka Drift, is so obviously destined to be the precursor of a future biopic that its interviewees are already discussing that outcome in the film.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Skyscraper Live saw Free Solo climber Alex Honnold scale the Taiwan skyscraper Taipei 101 without the use of ropes, which was claimed to be the highest free solo climb of an urban structure.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
  • On Friday evening, Alex Honnold, the world’s most famous rock climber, will attempt to free solo one of the world’s tallest buildings, the 1,667-foot Taipei 101 tower — live, on Netflix.
    — Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Jan. 2026
  • The documentary, which won a BAFTA and an Academy Award, thrust both its subject and the sport of free solo climbing—the act of ascending a cliff or mountain alone, without any ropes, harnesses or safety gear—into the spotlight.
    — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Could be one for those wanting more high-octane TV following Netflix’s Skyscraper Live event, which saw free solo climber Alex Honnold scale Taiwan’s Taipei 101 building without a harness.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
  • One such case is this tense Oscar-winning doc about rock climber Alex Honnold and his determination to conquer the El Capitan rock formation at Yosemite National Park via free solo climb, which is to say, without any ropes to protect him.
    — Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Honnold’s free solo climb, however, is quite literally taking Netflix’s livestream endeavors to new heights when the veteran rock climber with more than 30 years of experience sets his sights on ascending the 1,667-foot-tall (508 meters) skyscraper without the aid of ropes or safety nets.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 19 Jan. 2026
  • Honnold, of course, successfully completed a free solo climb of the 1,667-foot structure on Netflix’s Skyscraper Live in just over 1 hour, 30 minutes without the aid of ropes or safety nets on Saturday night, which was Sunday morning in Taipei, Taiwan.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
  • In addition, Free Solo — the 2018 Oscar-winning documentary featuring Honnold’s 3,000-foot free solo climb of the El Capitan summit in the Yosemite National Park in California — is streaming on Netflix and Disney+.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'free solo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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