free function

A free function is a [[programming language]] construct where a [[function]] is not bound to a particular object, such as a [[method]].

In the following example, f is a free function while obj.m is a method (obj.m can reference this[^fn:1] ):

function f() {
    return "f";
}

const obj = {
    m: function () {
        return "m";
    },
};

Footnotes

¹ This example is somewhat misleading because in [[JavaScript]] a free function can become a method. Consider the following example:

function f() {
    return this.name;
}

const obj = {
    name: 'obj',
};

console.log('free func:\t', f());
obj.f = f;

console.log('method:\t', obj.f());

Further, in [[JavaScript]], this can be set in free functions:

function f() {
    return `my name is ${this.name}`;
}

console.log(f.call({name: 'foo'}));