- loose
- [[t]lu͟ːs[/t]]
♦♦♦looser, loosest, looses, loosing, loosed1) ADJ-GRADED Something that is loose is not firmly held or fixed in place.
If a tooth feels very loose, your dentist may recommend that it's taken out...
Two wooden beams had come loose from the ceiling...
His tie was pulled loose and his collar hung open...
She idly pulled at a loose thread on her skirt.
Derived words:loosely ADV-GRADED ADV with vTim clasped his hands together and held them loosely in front of his belly.
2) ADJ: usu ADJ n Something that is loose is not attached to anything, or held or contained in anything.Two young men were racing motorcycles on the loose gravel...
Frank emptied a handful of loose change on the table...
A page came loose and floated onto the tiles.
3) ADJ: ADJ after v, ADJ n, v-link ADJ If people or animals break loose or are set loose, they are no longer held, tied, or kept somewhere and can move around freely.She broke loose from his embrace and crossed to the window...
Why didn't you tell me she'd been set loose?...
Jack was chased by a loose dog.
4) ADJ-GRADED Clothes that are loose are rather large and do not fit closely.A pistol wasn't that hard to hide under a loose shirt...
Wear loose clothes as they're more comfortable.
Syn:Ant:Derived words:loosely ADV-GRADED ADV after v, ADV -edHis shirt hung loosely over his thin shoulders.
5) ADJ If your hair is loose, it hangs freely round your shoulders and is not tied back.She was still in her nightdress, with her hair hanging loose over her shoulders.
6) ADJ If something is loose in texture, there is space between the different particles or threads it consists of.She gathered loose soil and let it filter slowly through her fingers.
7) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n A loose grouping, arrangement, or organization is flexible rather than strictly controlled or organized.Murray and Alison came to some sort of loose arrangement before he went home...
He wants a loose coalition of leftwing forces.
Ant:Derived words:loosely ADV-GRADED ADV with vThe investigation had aimed at a loosely organised group of criminals.
8) ADJ-GRADED Loose words or expressions are not exact but rather vague....a loose translation...
He despised loose thinking.
Syn:Derived words:loosely ADV-GRADED ADV -ed, ADV after vThe book follows four characters, loosely based on my uncles.
9) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n (disapproval) If someone describes a woman or someone's behaviour as loose, they disapprove of that person because they think she or he has sexual relationships with too many people. [OLD-FASHIONED]Is an actress who strips off in public necessarily a loose woman in private?...
Lust now seems to be associated with casual sex and loose morals.
10) VERB To loose a shot, arrow, or missile means to fire it.[V n] He trained his gun down and loosed a brief burst.
Loose off means the same as loose. [BRIT]Also V n P
V P n (not pron) He loosed off two shots at the oncoming car.11) VERB If you loose something, you hold it less tightly or untie it slightly or completely.[V n] He gave a grunt and loosed his grip on the rifle...
[V n] The guards loosed his arms.
12) PHRASE: v-link PHR If a person or an animal is on the loose, they are free because they have escaped from a person or place.Up to a thousand prisoners may be on the loose inside the jail...
A man-eating lion is on the loose somewhere in England.
Phrasal Verbs:
English dictionary. 2008.
