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Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

loose

/lus/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does loose mean?

verb

  1. To let loose, to free from restraints.
  2. To unfasten, to loosen.
  3. To make less tight, to loosen.
More meanings (26)

verb

  1. Of a grip or hold, to let go.
  2. To shoot (an arrow).
  3. Misspelling of lose.
  4. (obsolete) To set sail.
  5. (obsolete) To solve; to interpret.
  6. (obsolete) Obsolete form of lose.

adjective

  1. Not fixed in place tightly or firmly.
  2. Not held or packaged together.
  3. Not under control.
  4. Not fitting closely.
  5. Not compact.
  6. Relaxed.
  7. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate.
  8. Indiscreet.
  9. Not being in the possession of any competing team during a game.
  10. Measured loosely stacked or disorganized (such as of firewood).
  11. (slang) Having oversteer.
  12. (dated) Free from moral restraint; immoral, unchaste.
  13. (dated) Not costive; having lax bowels, diarrheic.

noun

  1. The release of an arrow.
  2. All play other than set pieces (scrums and line-outs).
  3. Freedom from restraint.
  4. A letting go; discharge.
  5. (obsolete) A state of laxity or indulgence; unrestrained freedom, abandonment.

interjection

  1. begin shooting; release your arrows

proper noun

  1. A surname.
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/lus/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

I was endeavouring to gather the loose ends of many thoughts and memories which flitted elusively through my tired and overwrought brain.
Edgar Rice BurroughsThe gods of MarsProject Gutenberg ebook #64
The tempest rose higher and higher, and presently the sail tore loose from its fastenings and went winging away on the blast.
Mark TwainThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer, CompleteProject Gutenberg ebook #74
More book examples (3)
She was enveloped in a loose dressing-gown of blue and silver, but a black sequin-covered dinner-dress lay upon the couch beside her.
Arthur Conan DoyleThe Return of Sherlock HolmesProject Gutenberg ebook #108
Thick as the ivy hung, it nearly all was a loose and swinging curtain, though some had crept over wood and iron.
Frances Hodgson BurnettThe Secret GardenProject Gutenberg ebook #113
The ants were pouring down a glacier of loose earth heaped between the stones of the ruin—large brown ants with polished bodies.
Virginia WoolfThe Voyage OutProject Gutenberg ebook #144