loose
♦ loose /l'uːs/ (looser loosest looses loosing loosed)
1 [ADJ]
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...
She idly pulled at a loose thread on her skirt.
● loosely [ADV] ADV with v
Tim 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.
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?...
= free
4 [ADJ]
Clothes that are loose are rather large and do not fit closely.
Wear loose clothes as they're more comfortable.
= baggy
≠ tight
● loosely [ADV] ADV after v, ADV -ed
His 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] 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.
● loosely [ADV] ADV with v
The investigation had aimed at a loosely organised group of criminals.
8 [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...
9
a loose cannon: see cannon
all hell breaks loose: see hellloose end (loose ends)
1 [N-COUNT]
A loose end is part of a story, situation, or crime that has not yet been explained.
There are some annoying loose ends in the plot.
2 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you are at a loose end, you are bored because you do not have anything to do and cannot think of anything that you want to do. In American English, you usually say that you are at loose ends. (INFORMAL)
Adolescents are most likely to get into trouble when they're at a loose end.
1 [ADJ]
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...
She idly pulled at a loose thread on her skirt.
● loosely [ADV] ADV with v
Tim 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.
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?...
= free
4 [ADJ]
Clothes that are loose are rather large and do not fit closely.
Wear loose clothes as they're more comfortable.
= baggy
≠ tight
● loosely [ADV] ADV after v, ADV -ed
His 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] 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.
● loosely [ADV] ADV with v
The investigation had aimed at a loosely organised group of criminals.
8 [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...
9
a loose cannon: see cannon
all hell breaks loose: see hellloose end (loose ends)
1 [N-COUNT]
A loose end is part of a story, situation, or crime that has not yet been explained.
There are some annoying loose ends in the plot.
2 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you are at a loose end, you are bored because you do not have anything to do and cannot think of anything that you want to do. In American English, you usually say that you are at loose ends. (INFORMAL)
Adolescents are most likely to get into trouble when they're at a loose end.