loose

I UK [luːs] / US [lus] adjective
Word forms "loose":
adjective loose comparative looser superlative loosest
**

1) not firmly fixed in position

loose floorboards

a loose tooth

work/come loose (= become loose):

One of the screws had worked loose.

a) if your hair is loose, it is not tied in position

Her hair was loose and hung on her shoulders.

b) not forming a firm mass

loose soil/stones

c) if a person or animal is loose, they can move around easily because they are not tied to anything, not held by anyone, or not kept inside something

A large dog was loose in the garden.

break/shake/get loose (from someone/something) (= become free):

The woman managed to break loose from her attacker and run for help.

turn/set/let someone loose (= allow someone to be free):

The kidnappers had set him loose on a dark country lane.

2) not kept together as part of a group or in a container

Loose oranges are 60p each.

3) loose clothes are large and do not fit your body tightly

a loose cotton shirt

a) if something such as a rope or knot is loose, it is not pulled tight

b) not tightly woven or knitted

4) not exactly accurate in every detail

This is a loose translation of the letter.

5) not strictly organized or official

a system in which political parties form a loose alliance

We've got a loose arrangement for looking after each other's children.

6) if the solid waste from your body is loose, it has too much liquid in it

7) a loose ball is not being controlled by any of the players in a game

8) old-fashioned careless about what you say or who you say it to

loose talk:

You've been warned about loose talk before.

9) old-fashioned sexually immoral

loose morals

•

break/cut loose — to stop being connected with something or influenced by someone or something

a country that has cut loose from its violent past

hang/cut loose — informal to start enjoying yourself and behaving in a relaxed uncontrolled way

let someone loose (on something) — to let someone do what they want to do without watching or controlling them

Don't let the children loose on the paints.

- have a loose tongue

- let something loose

See:

hell I, loose end, play I, screw II

II UK [luːs] / US [lus] verb [transitive]
Word forms "loose":
present tense I/you/we/they loose he/she/it looses present participle loosing past tense loosed past participle loosed formal or literary

1) loose or loose off to fire something such as a bullet, missile, or arrow

2) to start holding someone or something less tightly

He loosed his grip suddenly and dropped the vase.

3) to untie a person or animal

4) to make something bad or harmful start to happen in an uncontrolled way

The dispute has loosed a flood of political ill will.

Phrasal verbs:

- loose on

III UK [luːs] / US [lus] noun

- on the loose