adj., loos·er, loos·est.
- Not fastened, restrained, or contained: loose bricks.
- Not taut, fixed, or rigid: a loose anchor line; a loose chair leg.
- Free from confinement or imprisonment; unfettered: criminals loose in the neighborhood; dogs that are loose on the streets.
- Not tight-fitting or tightly fitted: loose shoes.
- Not bound, bundled, stapled, or gathered together: loose papers.
- Not compact or dense in arrangement or structure: loose gravel.
- Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; idle: loose talk.
- Not formal; relaxed: a loose atmosphere at the club.
- Lacking conventional moral restraint in sexual behavior.
- Not literal or exact: a loose translation.
- Characterized by a free movement of fluids in the body: a loose cough; loose bowels.
In a loose manner.
v., loosed, loos·ing, loos·es. v.tr.
- To let loose; release: loosed the dogs.
- To make loose; undo: loosed his belt.
- To cast loose; detach: hikers loosing their packs at camp.
- To let fly; discharge: loosed an arrow.
- To release pressure or obligation from; absolve: loosed her from the responsibility.
- To make less strict; relax: a leader's strong authority that was loosed by easy times.
- To become loose.
- To discharge a missile; fire.
on the loose
- At large; free.
- Acting in an uninhibited fashion.
[Middle English louse, los, from Old Norse lauss.]
loosely loose'ly adv.looseness loose'ness n.
SYNONYMS loose, lax, slack. These adjectives mean not tautly bound, held, or fastened: loose reins; a lax rope; slack sails.
ANTONYM tight
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
