Lexic.us

Definition of Loose

1. Verb. Grant freedom to; free from confinement. "They want to loose the prisoners "

2. Adjective. Not compact or dense in structure or arrangement. ; "Loose gravel"

3. Adverb. Without restraint. "Cows in India are running loose"

4. Verb. Turn loose or free from restraint. "Loose terrible plagues upon humanity"

5. Adjective. (of a ball in sport) not in the possession or control of any player. "A loose ball"

6. Verb. Make loose or looser. "Loosen the tension on a rope"

7. Adjective. Not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting. "The large shoes were very loose"

8. Verb. Become loose or looser or less tight. "The rope relaxed"

9. Adjective. Not officially recognized or controlled. "A loose organization of the local farmers"

10. Adjective. Not literal. "A free translation of the poem"

11. Adjective. Emptying easily or excessively. "Loose bowels"

12. Adjective. Not affixed. "The stamp came loose"

13. Adjective. Not tense or taut. "A slack rope"

14. Adjective. (of textures) full of small openings or gaps. "A loose weave"

15. Adjective. Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility. "A loose tongue"

16. Adjective. Not carefully arranged in a package. "A box of loose nails"

17. Adjective. Having escaped, especially from confinement. "Criminals on the loose in the neighborhood"

18. Adjective. Casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior. "Wanton behavior"

Definition of Loose

1. a. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.

2. n. Freedom from restraint.

3. v. n. To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove the shackles or fastenings of; to set free; to relieve.

4. v. i. To set sail.

Definition of Loose

1. Verb. (transitive) To let loose, to free from restraints. ¹

2. Verb. (transitive) To unfasten, to loosen. ¹

3. Verb. (transitive) To make less tight, to loosen. ¹

4. Verb. (intransitive) Of a grip or hold, to let go. ¹

5. Verb. (archery) to shoot (an arrow) ¹

6. Adjective. Not fixed in place tightly or firmly. ¹

7. Adjective. Not held or packaged together. ¹

8. Adjective. Not under control. ¹

9. Adjective. Not fitting closely ¹

10. Adjective. Not compact. ¹

11. Adjective. Relaxed. ¹

12. Adjective. Indiscreet. ¹

13. Adjective. (dated) Free from moral restraint; immoral, unchaste. ¹

14. Adjective. (not comparable sports) Not being in the possession of any competing team during a game. ¹

15. Noun. (archery) The release of an arrow. ¹

16. Noun. (obsolete) A state of laxity or indulgence; unrestrained freedom, abandonment. ¹

17. Noun. (sports) ¹

18. Interjection. (archery) begin shooting; release your arrows ¹

19. Verb. (misspelling of lose) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Loose

1. not firm, taut, or rigid [adj LOOSER, LOOSEST] : LOOSELY [adv] / to set free [v LOOSED, LOOSING, LOOSES]

Medical Definition of Loose

1. 1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book. "Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat." (Shak) 2. Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc.; with from or of. "Now I stand Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ?" (Addison) 3. Not tight or close; as, a loose garment. 4. Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of loose texture. "With horse and chariots ranked in loose array." (Milton) 5. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose style, or way of reasoning. "The comparison employed . . . Must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation." (Whewel) 6. Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right. "The loose morality which he had learned." (Sir W. Scott) 7. Unconnected; rambling. "Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages." (I. Watts) 8. Lax; not costive; having lax bowels. 9. Dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman. "Loose ladies in delight." (Spenser) 10. Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, a loose epistle. at loose ends, not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed. Fast and loose. See Fast. To break loose. See Break. Loose pulley. See Fast and loose pulleys, under Fast. To let loose, to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty. Origin: OE. Loos, lous, laus, Icel. Lauss; akin to OD. Loos, D. Los, AS. Leas false, deceitful, G. Los, loose, Dan. & Sw. Los, Goth. Laus, and E. Lose. See Lose, and cf. Leasing falsehood. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Loose

looping loopings loopless looplight looplights loops loops of spinal nerves looptail looptop loopwise

loopy loor loord loords loos loose (current term) loose-box loose-fitting loose-jointed loose-jowled

loose-leaf loose-leaf lettuce loose-lipped loose-meat sandwich loose-tongued loose ablative loose body loose box loose cannon

Literary usage of Loose

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life by George Eliot (1873)
"Then they turned their faces toward each other, with the memory of his last words in them, and they did not loose each other's hands. ..."

2. Publishers Weekly by Publishers' Board of Trade (U.S.), Book Trade Association of Philadelphia, American Book Trade Union, Am. Book Trade Association, R.R. Bowker Company (1912)
"loose-LEAF RECORDS IN LAW. IN reply to a query, the American Stationer quotes the following opinion given by its legal department on the question of the ..."

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