What does loose mean and how can you use it as an adjective or a verb? This article will definethe meaning of loose and provide sentence examples.
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Kevin
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April 17, 2022
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You may have heard the word loose in idioms like “hang loose!” But what does this word mean? This article will teach you how to use the word loose in different parts of speech, provide numerous example sentences containing the word loose, and more! You’re sure to be an expert on the word loose in no time.
What Does Loose Mean?
According to Dictionary, loose can be either an adjective or a verb. The adjective loose means free, not tight, or unfettered. As a verb, to loose means to free from restraint, either literally or figuratively.
If someone loosely does something, they are doing it freely and without restraint. The superlative forms of loose are looser and loosest. The pronunciation of loose is luːs, and the adverb form of the word loose is loosely.
How Can Loose Be Used in a Sentence?
Below, we have provided several example sentences using this word of the day. Loose is a very common word that you might frequently hear in English sentences. After you have looked at our sentences containing loose, see if you can come up with your own!
She preferred to wear loose clothing to the office rather than anything tight-fitting so as not to attract unwanted attention.
The small child in the stands caught the loose ball that the player fouled.
Emily had loose bowels before getting on the airplane because she was a nervous flier.
They met to tie up the final loose end of their rental agreement and roommate situation in the leasing office.
The man could not hold his loose tongue in the business meeting and was fired.
My friend in Brazil was able to give me a loose translation of what people were saying, but I still felt lost.
I dug for loose change in the sofa to do my laundry at the laundromat.
The crocheted bag had a loose weave, and, consequently, all of my things fell out.
Billy had a loose tooth, so we tied it to a door and yanked it out. He was so excited for the tooth fairy to come.
We balked at the loose interpretation of the film: The critic thought it was a critique of feminism when it was the exact opposite.
Loose gravel flew up when we rode the ATVs down the driveway. A piece hit me in the noggin.
He was a loose cannon cop who didn’t play by the rules. Therefore, the bureau fired him.
The businessman had loose morals and would do anything for money.
We kept a loose rein on the horse because no one had ever socialized it.
The loose woman lacked moral restraint and would sleep with anyone she came across.
What Is the Etymology of Loose?
According to Dictionary, the word loose comes from the Middle English lous, loos, and los. These words originate from the Old Norse lauss and German los.
What Are Translations of Loose?
Other languages use their own translations of the word loose. Do you see any similarities between the English word loose and the below translations? Do any of the other translations of loose look similar?
- Gujarati: છૂટક
- Arabic: مرتخي
- Estonian: lahti
- Malay: longgar
- Latvian: vaļīgs
- Portuguese (Brazil): solto
- Turkish: gevşetmek
- Kannada: ಸಡಿಲ
- Dutch: loszittend
- Chinese (Taiwan): 疏鬆
- Serbian: лабав
- Portuguese (Portugal): solto
- Telugu: వదులుగా
- Czech: volný
- Italian: sciolto
- Lithuanian: laisvas
- Spanish: suelto
- Indonesian: longgar
- French: lâche
- Marathi: ढीग
- Amharic: ልቅ
- Greek: Χαλαρά
- Russian: свободный
- Icelandic: laus
- Basque: laxo
- Polish: luźny
- Swedish: lösa
- Welsh: rydd
- Vietnamese: lỏng lẻo
- Hungarian: laza
- Thai: หลวม
- Swahili: huru
- Chinese (PRC): 疏松
- Croatian: labav
- Danish: løs
- Finnish: löysä
- Tamil: தளர்வான
- German: lose
- Hebrew: מְשׁוּחרָר
- Japanese: ゆるい
- Bulgarian: разхлабеност
- Slovenian: ohlapna
- Norwegian: løs
- Malayalam: അഴിഞ്ഞതായ
- Ukrainian: розпусний
- Urdu: ڈھیلے
- Romanian: liber
- Filipino: maluwag
- Slovak: voľný
- Catalan: solt
- Hindi: ढीला
- Korean: 헐렁한
What Are Synonyms of Loose?
Several words in the English language have similar definitions to the word loose. However, some of these have different connotations or levels of formality than the word loose. By referencing this list of synonyms of loose from Power Thesaurus, you can learn many different ways to describe something as loose.
- approximate
- at large
- baggy
- broad
- debauched
- detached
- disconnected
- disengage
- dissolute
- easy
- escaped
- flabby
- flaccid
- free
- general
- immoral
- imprecise
- incoherent
- indefinite
- inexact
- informal
- lax
- let go
- lewd
- liberal
- liberate
- licentious
- light
- limp
- loosen
- open
- promiscuous
- relax
- relaxed
- release
- released
- slack
- slacken
- unattached
- unbound
- unchaste
- undo
- unfasten
- unfastened
- unleash
- unloose
- unloosen
- unrestrained
- untie
- untied
- vague
- wanton
What Are Antonyms of Loose?
Power Thesaurus also provides many antonyms of loose. For example, if something is not loose, it is tight or carefully watched and controlled. Which of these antonyms of loose would you use in different scenarios?
- accurate
- actual
- adhere
- adhesive
- affixed
- attach
- bind
- carefully constrained
- carefully controlled
- carefully disciplined
- carefully measured
- carefully monitored
- carefully regulated
- carefully restrained
- chaste
- circumscribe
- clean
- clench
- close
- closely constrained
- closely controlled
- closely measured
- closely monitored
- closely regulated
- closely restrained
- cohesive
- compact
- compressed
- confine
- contract
- decent
- definite
- dense
- detain
- determined
- disenfranchise
- engage
- exact
- factual
- faithful
- fast
- fasten
- fetter
- firm
- firmly controlled
- firmly regulated
- firmly restrained
- good
- honest
- moral
- nice
- precise
- prudent
- restrain
- restricted
- restrictive
- right
- rigorous
- secure
- snug
- solid
- stiffen
- strangle
- strict
- strong
- stuck
- take prisoner
- taut
- tense
- tight
- true
Conclusion
Loose has a twofold definition: First, it can be used as an adjective to mean not tight or unrestrained. Second, loose is a verb that means to unfasten or reduce tightness. Loose is a very common word in English, both literally and figuratively.
Can you think of loose things?
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