Definition of "at large"

at large

prepositional phrase
1. (idiomatic) On the loose; roaming freely; not confined.
2. (obsolete) In full, fully.
  Quotations
  The like example I find in Lælius à Fonte Eugubinus, consult. 129 […]. Read in him the story at large.
  1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps
3. In general; as a whole.
4. (US, politics, of an election or elected position) Having an electorate across multiple districts.
  Quotations
  Although the elections for Boston City Council seats are still seven months away, the race between at-large candidates is beginning to heat up.
  1991 May 4, Elizabeth Yukins, “City Council Candidates Lobby For The Gay Vote”, in Gay Community News, page 3