I. ˈlüs adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English loos, lous, from Old Norse lauss loose, free — more at -less
1.
a. : not rigidly fastened or securely attached : lacking a firm or tight connection : ready to move or come apart from an attachment
loose planks in a bridge
sloping sides covered with … loose rock — F.J.R.Rodd
b.
(1) : lightly secured or made fast ; especially : having worked partly free from attachments
a loose tooth
the knife had a loose blade
loose masonry
(2) : having relative freedom of movement or arrangement as a result of being only locally restrained or fixed
loose ribbons fluttering from her hat
the slamming of a loose shutter
c. : produced freely and accompanied by raising of mucus : not dry or harsh : productive
a loose cough
d. : easily altered or removed : not fast
a loose dye
a loose color
e. : permitting some freedom of movement — usually used of a stable or a box stall
f. : not clinging close to the figure : not tight-fitting
loose clothing
2. : free from a state of confinement or restraint:
a. : free from bonds, fetters, or confining limits
a loose convict
a horse loose of his tether
a lion loose in the streets
b. : free from constraint or obligation : at liberty : not bound (as by duty or habit)
if … your thoughts are loose of state affairs — Joseph Addison
c. : not assigned to special use or service : subject to free disposal : having no assigned place or employment
loose hours
loose funds
d. : not bound together : not brought together in a bundle, container, or binding : not secured in a setting or joined in a fixed combination
loose papers
loose hair
loose milk
e. archaic : disconnected , detached , random
a good deal of loose information — Thomas Carlyle
loose pages
f. : not joined to anything else
a loose line
3. : not dense, close, or compact in structure or arrangement: as
a. : composed of particles capable of free movement
loose earth
the action of the tides carried away the loose soil — American Guide Series: Maine
b. : not in close order : unserried
with horse and chariots ranked in loose array — John Milton
loose flocks drifting slowly from the neighboring jungle — William Beebe
c. : having wide spaces or interstices
a cloth of loose texture
d. : lax III 3c
e. : lacking compactness or smooth integration of build
a strong, loose , round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow — Charles Dickens
4.
a. : lacking in restraint or power of restraint
a loose tongue
loose bowels
b. : lacking in moral restraint ; especially : characterized by immorality : lewd , unchaste , wanton
loose writings
a loose life
a loose woman
5.
a. : not tightly drawn or stretched : slack
drive a pony cart with loose reins
a loose belt
loose skin
b. : having a flexible or relaxed character (as from weakness or agility)
my knees loose under me — R.L.Stevenson
walked with a loose swinging stride — E.T.Thurston
6.
a. : lacking in precision, exactness, or care : inaccurate or indeterminate in construction : lacking in system or logic
a loose style
loose reasoning
a loose analogy
a loose thinker
b. : lacking in rigidity (as of construction) and permitting freedom of interpretation
a loose working agreement
a loose construction of the Federal Constitution
7. : characterized by limited cohesion between constituent elements and permitting a wide area of freedom of action
a loose federation of sovereign principalities — F.A.Ogg & Harold Zink
8.
a. : not in strict accordance with the rules : being without special care
loose practice
b. : characterized by poor quality : inefficient or unskilled in performance
loose play
c. : having players relatively wide apart
a loose formation in football
— compare tight
d. : disputed as to possession : gone from control (as of a player or team)
a loose ball
a loose puck
9. : lax 4
10.
a. : expressed in or characterized by loose sentences
loose style
b. : open 18
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English loosen, losen, lousen, from loos, lous, adjective — more at loose I
transitive verb
1.
a. : to let loose : set free : release from or as if from restraint
the railroad had him arrested … but the judge loosed him with a warning — S.H.Adams
war has again been loosed — Arthur Geddes
the corn dance … should loose downpours upon the dry country — Oliver La Farge
b. : to free (as the lips or tongue) from restraint
c. : to give absolution to
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven — Mt 16:19 (Revised Standard Version)
2.
a. : to make loose : unbind , undo , untie
loose a knot
loosed the laces of her shoe — B.A.Williams
b. archaic : dissolve
by assuming vows no pope will loose — P.B.Shelley
3. : to cast loose : detach
loosed the boat from its moorings — George Eliot
loose a rope
4. : to let fly (as an arrow) : discharge (as a gun) : send forth (something) as a missile
a hail of bullets and arrows was loosed into the flanks of the … advance guard — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
the destroyer had loosed a salvo of 4.7-inch shells at her target — Crowsnest
— often used with off
the little boys had loosed off a pistol — Victoria Sackville-West
5. : to make less rigid, tight, or strict : relax , slacken
the old bonds of authority have been loosed by the war — Bertrand Russell
limbs had been loosed by grievous labor of combat — Alexander Pope
6. chiefly Scotland : to free or obtain by payment of a fee
7. Scots law : to stop (an arrestment) from taking effect : withdraw
intransitive verb
1. : to let fly a missile (as an arrow) : discharge a gun : fire — often used with off
almost loosed off at it before I saw it was a cow — Ernest Hemingway
2. : to weigh anchor : set sail
3. dialect chiefly England : to become dismissed
every day when the school looses — James Hogg
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: partly from loose (I) & partly from loose (II)
1. : the release of an arrow from a bow
with a strong bow the loose is easier to do well than with a weak one — A.E.Hodgkin
2. obsolete : the conclusion or outcome of a matter : issue
3. obsolete : the state or condition of looseness ; especially : freedom from or abandonment of moral restraint
4. : loose rock or rock that may easily be loosened
5. : open forward play in rugby — often used with the ; contrasted with tight
the North forwards … were so lively in the loose that they neutralized the advantage gained by the visitors in the tight — Rugger
•
- give a loose to
- on the loose
IV. adverb
Etymology: loose (I)
: loosely
our manners sit more loose upon us — Joseph Addison