loose

loose¹ W3S3 [lu:s] adj

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1¦(not firmly attached)¦

2¦(not attached)¦

3¦(not tied tightly)¦

4¦(hair)¦

5¦(clothes)¦

6¦(free)¦

7¦(not exact)¦

8¦(not very controlled)¦

9¦(not solid)¦

10¦(sport)¦

11 cut loose

12 let (something <=>) loose

13 let somebody loose on something

14 be at a loose end

15 loose ends

16 loose change

17 loose cannon

18 hang/stay loose

19¦(body waste)¦

20¦(immoral)¦

21¦(talk)¦

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[Date: 1100-1200; : Old Norse; Origin: lauss]

1.) ¦(NOT FIRMLY ATTACHED)¦

not firmly fastened in place

▪ a loose floorboard

▪ This tooth feels very loose.

▪ The screw has come loose (=become loose) .

2.) ¦(NOT ATTACHED)¦

not attached to anything else

▪ loose papers

▪ His rear wheel spun on the loose stones .

▪ The potatoes are sold loose (=not packed in a container) .

▪ The driver had forgotten to fasten the safety chain and the trailer came loose (=become unattached) .

3.) ¦(NOT TIED TIGHTLY)¦

not tied or fastened very tightly

▪ a loose knot

4.) ¦(HAIR)¦

if your hair is loose, it hangs freely rather than being tied back

▪ Her hair fell loose around her shoulders.

5.) ¦(CLOTHES)¦

loose clothes are big and do not fit your body tightly

= ↑loose-fitting, baggy ↑baggy

≠ ↑tight

▪ a loose sweatshirt

6.) ¦(FREE)¦

free from being controlled or held in a cage, prison, or institution

break/get loose

(=escape)

▪ A 34-year old inmate broke loose from the sheriff's office yesterday.

turn/let/set sth loose

(=let something go free)

▪ Don't let your dog loose on the beach.

7.) ¦(NOT EXACT)¦ [usually before noun]

not exact or thoroughly done

▪ a loose translation

▪ a loose interpretation of the law

8.) ¦(NOT VERY CONTROLLED)¦

not strictly controlled or organized

loose federation/alliance/group etc

▪ a loose federation of political groups

▪ loose arrangement (=an arrangement that can easily be changed)

9.) ¦(NOT SOLID)¦

not pressed tightly together in a solid mass

loose soil/earth

10.)¦(SPORT)¦

not under the control of either team in a game of football, ↑rugby etc

▪ Sheringham was the first player to reach the loose ball .

11.) cut loose

a) to free yourself from someone or something, or their influence

cut yourself loose (from sth)

▪ He cut himself loose from the constraints of family life.

b) AmE informal to start enjoying yourself in a happy noisy way after a period of controlled behaviour

▪ I'm ready to cut loose and enjoy the weekend.

12.) let (sth <=>) loose

to speak or behave in an uncontrolled way

▪ She let loose a string of four-letter words.

13.) let sb loose on sth

to allow someone to deal with something in the way they want to, when you think they will make mistakes or do something wrong

▪ Whatever you do, don't let Derek loose on the garden.

14.) be at a loose end also be at loose ends AmE

to have nothing to do

▪ I was at a loose end so I decided to go see an old movie.

15.) loose ends

parts of something that have not been completed or correctly done

▪ We've nearly finished, but there are still a few loose ends to be tied up (=dealt with or completed) .

16.) loose change

coins that you have in your bag or pocket

17.) loose cannon

someone who cannot be trusted because they say or do things you do not want them to

18.) hang/stay loose

AmE spoken used to tell someone to stay calm, or not to worry about something

19.) ¦(BODY WASTE)¦

having a problem in which the waste from your ↑bowels has too much liquid in it

▪ loose bowels

20.)¦(IMMORAL)¦

old-fashioned behaving in a way that is considered to be sexually immoral

▪ a loose woman

▪ loose morals

21.) ¦(TALK)¦

old-fashioned not careful about what you say or who is listening

▪ There's been a bit of loose talk about it.

>loosely adv

▪ A towel was loosely wrapped around his neck.

▪ The film is loosely based on the novel.

>looseness n [U]

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HINT

Do not confuse the adjective loose (=not tight, not firm etc) /lu:s/ with the verb lose (=no longer have something, be unable to find something etc) which has a different pronunciation /lu:z/ .

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loose ²

loose² v [T] literary

1.) to make something unpleasant begin

▪ And now the anger Maggie had feared was loosed.

2.) to make something loose or to untie someone or something, especially an animal

3.) to fire an ↑arrow, a bullet from a gun etc

loose on/upon / [loose sth on/upon sb/sth] phr v

literary to allow something dangerous or harmful to begin to affect a situation or other people

▪ the evils loosed upon humanity in World War II

loose ³

loose³ n

be on the loose

if a criminal or dangerous animal is on the loose, they have escaped from prison or from their cage