verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
break/loosen the stranglehold of sb (= stop someone having complete control )
loosen a knot (= make it less tight )
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Mr Benson loosened the knot in his tie.
loosen/relax your grip (= hold something less tightly )
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Lee loosened his grip on the dog’s collar.
loosen/relax your hold
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Laughing, he loosened his hold until she could pull her arms free.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
up
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I started to like it more when we loosened up and it got less serious.
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Around me, he loosens up .
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How do I get her to let Loosen up ?
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On Friday night, he cited several things that had helped him loosen up .
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Why couldn't the guy loosen up ?
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This process will help you channel your thoughts, work out your ideas, and loosen up for the actual writing.
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From 1987, as in church affairs, controls were slowly loosening up in the arts and the professions.
■ NOUN
collar
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Later still hands loosened her collar .
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Harry felt stiflingly hot, choking almost, as he loosened his collar .
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He loosened his collar , attempted to put a ruler between his teeth, and failed.
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I loosened my shirt collar and watched a couple of generals being saluted by their chauffeurs.
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She hurried over to him and loosened his collar .
control
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None has loosened criminal control , though crooked operators are periodically sent to jail.
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The result has been some unbundling, loosening and decentralizing of control in some societies and in some organizations on some tasks.
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I felt a need to drink, to further loosen my control center, and I did.
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The difficulty this offered Franco was that, to his authoritarian mentality, loosening control was synonymous with losing it.
grip
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But whenever he wandered off el grip would loosen , el thwing would revert and the comfortable old mongrel ways would return.
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Although she was silent, the grip didn't loosen .
hold
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Culley waited for the spasm to pass, and loosened his hold a fraction.
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It was on a block where he encountered three soldiers that he began to loosen his hold on the sequence.
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It will be intriguing to see how Brecht's play stands up at a time when Communism is loosening its ideological hold .
knot
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He loosened the tight knot round his throat.
purse
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The business leaders wanted the state to loosen its purse strings and give the schools' budgets a healthy boost.
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All these issues add up to political fire works on Capitol Hill before Congress loosens its purse strings.
string
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The business leaders wanted the state to loosen its purse strings and give the schools' budgets a healthy boost.
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All these issues add up to political fire works on Capitol Hill before Congress loosens its purse strings .
tie
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He had loosened his tie and undone the top button of his shirt.
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Then taking off his tunic and loosening his tie , he picked up the telephone.
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He loosened his tie with his free hand.
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Her hand was loosening his tie , his was sliding up the tingling curve of her thigh.
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Omar said, loosening his tie .
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They loosen their ties and slouch against the wall with hands in pockets in manufactured nonchalance.
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The Chancellor had loosened his tie and was breathing heavily.
tongue
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A few coppers would be enough to loosen her tongue .
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Zeal for a cause dissolved his timidity and loosened his tongue .
■ VERB
begin
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I began to loosen my armour.
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It was on a block where he encountered three soldiers that he began to loosen his hold on the sequence.
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As the freighter slammed back down, the solid rock above began to loosen , huge boulders crashing into the decks.
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But among those in the forest, the hold of the militia has begun to loosen after two months of hardship.
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His muscles creaked as the tension began to loosen .
try
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They tried to loosen them but failed.
want
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The business leaders wanted the state to loosen its purse strings and give the schools' budgets a healthy boost.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
loosen sb's tongue
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Loosen any tight clothing, and lay the patient on his side.
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After the meal we all had to loosen our belts.
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Bill loosened his tie and lit a cigarette.
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Carter took off his jacket and loosened his tie.
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Congress has loosened some of the restrictions on immigration.
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Could you loosen this lid for me?
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Eric leaned back in his chair and loosened his belt.
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He grasped one of the mules and began to loosen the hitch that held its load.
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He took a screwdriver from his pocket and began loosening the screws that secured the steel bars to the window frame.
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I'd eaten so much that I had to loosen my belt.
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When the policeman loosened his grip, Biff ran away.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A comrade loosened his grasp, and his faithful gray stood quietly...
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But presently the crowd loosened into smaller groups and a good many people went off into the village or set off for outlying farms.
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Claire used to try to get her to loosen up over a drink.
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Finally, he decides to unbuckle his belt, loosen his pants, sit back and relax.
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He regained his sight after treatment with ointment, which eventually loosened the glue.
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Major's attachment to free market doctrine has been loosened by the public's refusal to let short-termism shut Britain's pits.
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These are good characteristics, but you need to loosen up a little.