| English Dictionary |
LOOSE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does loose mean?
• LOOSE (adjective)
The adjective LOOSE has 13 senses:
1. not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
2. (of a ball in sport) not in the possession or control of any player
3. not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting
4. not officially recognized or controlled
5. not literal
6. emptying easily or excessively
7. not affixed
8. not tense or taut
9. (of textures) full of small openings or gaps
10. lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
11. not carefully arranged in a package
12. having escaped, especially from confinement
13. casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
Familiarity information: LOOSE used as an adjective is familiar.
• LOOSE (verb)
The verb LOOSE has 4 senses:
1. grant freedom to; free from confinement
2. turn loose or free from restraint
3. make loose or looser
4. become loose or looser or less tight
Familiarity information: LOOSE used as a verb is uncommon.
• LOOSE (adverb)
The adverb LOOSE has 1 sense:
1. without restraint
Familiarity information: LOOSE used as an adverb is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: loosest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
Context example:
loose gravel
Similar:
light ((used of soil) loose and large-grained in consistency)
unconsolidated (loose and unstratified)
silty (full of silt)
shifting; unfirm ((of soil) unstable)
Antonym:
compact (closely and firmly united or packed together)
Derivation:
looseness (the quality of movability by virtue of being free from attachment or other restraints)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(of a ball in sport) not in the possession or control of any player
Context example:
a loose ball
Similar:
uncontrolled (not being under control; out of control)
Domain category:
athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting
Context example:
the large shoes were very loose
Similar:
baggy; loose-fitting; sloppy (not fitting closely; hanging loosely)
flyaway ((of hair or clothing) worn loose)
Also:
lax (lacking in firmness or tension; not taut)
Antonym:
tight (closely constrained or constricted or constricting)
Derivation:
looseness (the quality of movability by virtue of being free from attachment or other restraints)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not officially recognized or controlled
Synonyms:
informal; loose
Context example:
a loose organization of the local farmers
Similar:
unofficial (not having official authority or sanction)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Not literal
Synonyms:
Context example:
a free translation of the poem
Similar:
inexact (not exact)
Derivation:
looseness (a lack of strict accuracy; laxity of practice)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Emptying easily or excessively
Synonyms:
lax; loose
Context example:
loose bowels
Similar:
regular; unconstipated (not constipated)
Derivation:
looseness (frequent and watery bowel movements; can be a symptom of infection or food poisoning or colitis or a gastrointestinal tumor)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Not affixed
Synonyms:
loose; unaffixed
Context example:
the stamp came loose
Derivation:
looseness (the quality of movability by virtue of being free from attachment or other restraints)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Not tense or taut
Synonyms:
loose; slack
Context example:
a slack grip
Similar:
lax (lacking in firmness or tension; not taut)
Derivation:
looseness (movement or space for movement)
Sense 9
Meaning:
(of textures) full of small openings or gaps
Synonyms:
loose; open
Context example:
a loose weave
Similar:
coarse; harsh (of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
Synonyms:
idle; loose
Context example:
a loose tongue
Similar:
irresponsible (showing lack of care for consequences)
Derivation:
looseness (freedom from restraint)
Sense 11
Meaning:
Not carefully arranged in a package
Context example:
a box of loose nails
Similar:
unpackaged (not packaged or put into packets)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Having escaped, especially from confinement
Synonyms:
at large; escaped; loose; on the loose
Context example:
criminals on the loose in the neighborhood
Similar:
free (not limited or hampered; not under compulsion or restraint)
Sense 13
Meaning:
Casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
Synonyms:
easy; light; loose; promiscuous; sluttish; wanton
Context example:
wanton behavior
Similar:
unchaste (not chaste)
Derivation:
looseness (dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it looses Past simple: loosed
Past participle: loosed
-ing form: loosing
Sense 1
Meaning:
Grant freedom to; free from confinement
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
free; liberate; loose; release; unloose; unloosen
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "loose"):
unspell (release from a spell)
unchain (make free)
bail (release after a security has been paid)
run (set animals loose to graze)
bail out (free on bail)
parole (release a criminal from detention and place him on parole)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sentence example:
They want to loose the prisoners
Sense 2
Meaning:
Turn loose or free from restraint
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Synonyms:
Context example:
Loose terrible plagues upon humanity
Hypernyms (to "loose" is one way to...):
let go; let go of; release; relinquish (release, as from one's grip)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Make loose or looser
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
loose; loosen
Context example:
loosen the tension on a rope
Hypernyms (to "loose" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Cause:
loose; loosen; relax (become loose or looser or less tight)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "loose"):
relax; unbend (make less taut)
remit; slacken (make slack as by lessening tension or firmness)
slack (release tension on)
unscrew (loosen something by unscrewing it)
unscrew (loosen by turning)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sense 4
Meaning:
Become loose or looser or less tight
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
Context example:
the rope relaxed
Hypernyms (to "loose" is one way to...):
weaken (become weaker)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Sense 1
Meaning:
Without restraint
Synonyms:
free; loose
Context example:
cows in India are running loose
Context examples
As a result, tight junctions became loose, which led to a breakdown in the BBB.
(Brain tumor invasion along blood vessels may lead to new cancer treatments, NIH)
Then Gretel became angry, tore herself loose and ran away, and was no longer the bride of Hans.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
He had loosed the guard upon his tongue and talked about things that were not nice.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
But the girl held true to me, and it seemed that I would have had her when the Mutiny broke out, and all hell was loose in the country.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
These loose bonds in its microscopic structure permit the molecules to rotate relatively freely.
(Green material for refrigeration identified, University of Cambridge)
Loose asbestos fibers breathed into the lungs can cause several serious diseases, including lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma (cancer found in the lining of the lungs, chest, or abdomen).
(Asbestos, NCI Dictionary)
Shar-Peis slowly loose their wrinkles as they get older.
(Chinese Shar-Pei, NCI Thesaurus)
There are variable numbers of polypoid nodules, often with an abundant, loose myxoid stroma.
(Botryoid-Type Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, NCI Thesaurus)
For example, binding agents can be used to make solid pills from loose powders.
(Binder Excipient, NCI Dictionary)
Now, if this letter were loose—no, it can’t be loose—but if it isn’t loose, where can it be?
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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