loose Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb grant freedom to; free from confinement
    unloosen; unloose; free; release; liberate.
  2. verb turn loose or free from restraint
    let loose; unleash.
    • let loose mines
    • Loose terrible plagues upon humanity
  3. verb make loose or looser
    loosen.
    • loosen the tension on a rope
  4. verb become loose or looser or less tight
    loosen; relax.
    • The noose loosened
    • the rope relaxed
  5. adjective not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
    • loose gravel
  6. adjective satellite (of a ball in sport) not in the possession or control of any player
    • a loose ball
  7. adjective not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting
    • loose clothing
    • the large shoes were very loose
  8. adjective satellite not officially recognized or controlled
    informal.
    • an informal agreement
    • a loose organization of the local farmers
  9. adjective satellite not literal
    liberal; free.
    • a loose interpretation of what she had been told
    • a free translation of the poem
  10. adjective satellite emptying easily or excessively
    lax.
    • loose bowels
  11. adjective not affixed
    unaffixed.
    • the stamp came loose
  12. adjective satellite not tense or taut
    slack.
    • the old man's skin hung loose and grey
    • slack and wrinkled skin
    • slack sails
    • a slack rope
  13. adjective satellite (of textures) full of small openings or gaps
    open.
    • an open texture
    • a loose weave
  14. adjective satellite lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
    idle.
    • idle talk
    • a loose tongue
  15. adjective satellite not carefully arranged in a package
    • a box of loose nails
  16. adjective satellite having escaped, especially from confinement
    escaped; on the loose; at large.
    • a convict still at large
    • searching for two escaped prisoners
    • dogs loose on the streets
    • criminals on the loose in the neighborhood
  17. adjective satellite casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
    sluttish; wanton; light; promiscuous; easy.
    • her easy virtue
    • he was told to avoid loose (or light) women
    • wanton behavior
  18. adverb without restraint
    free.
    • cows in India are running loose

WordNet

Loose adjective
Etymology
OE. loos, lous, laus, Icel. lauss; akin to OD. loos, D. los, AS. leás false, deceitful, G. los, loose, Dan. & Sw. lös, Goth. laus, and E. lose. See Lose, and cf. Leasing falsehood.
Wordforms
comparative Looser ; superlative Loosest
Definitions
  1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.
    Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat. Shak.
  2. Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc. ; -- with from or of.
    Now I stand Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ? Addison.
  3. Not tight or close; as, a loose garment.
  4. Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of loose texture.
    With horse and chariots ranked in loose array. Milton.
  5. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose style, or way of reasoning.
    The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation. Whewel.
  6. Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right.
    The loose morality which he had learned. Sir W. Scott.
  7. Unconnected; rambling.
    Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages. I. Watts.
  8. Lax; not costive; having lax bowels. Locke.
  9. Dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.
    Loose ladies in delight. Spenser.
  10. Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, a loose epistle. Dryden.
Loose noun
Definitions
  1. Freedom from restraint. Obs. Prior.
  2. A letting go; discharge. B. Jonson.
    Vent all its griefs, and give a loose to sorrow. Addison.
Loose transitive verb
Etymology
From Loose, a.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Loosed ; present participle & verbal noun Loosing
Definitions
  1. To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove the shackles or fastenings of; to set free; to relieve.
    Canst thou . . . loose the bands of Orion ? Job. xxxviii. 31.
    Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them unto me. Matt. xxi. 2.
  2. To release from anything obligatory or burdensome; to disengage; hence, to absolve; to remit.
    Art thou loosed from a wife ? seek not a wife. 1 Cor. vii. 27.
    Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matt. xvi. 19.
  3. To relax; to loosen; to make less strict.
    The joints of his loins were loosed. Dan. v. 6.
  4. To solve; to interpret. Obs. Spenser.
Loose intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To set sail. Obs. Acts xiii. 13.

Webster 1913