loose
loose Lexical Profile
loose Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Not firmly or tightly fixed in place; detached or able to be detached.
"The carpenter repaired the loose floorboards in the hallway before sanding the wood."
Not fitting tightly or closely on the body (of a garment).
"She wore a loose linen shirt to stay comfortable in the humid summer weather."
Not bound together, packaged, or confined within a container or enclosure.
"He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a handful of loose change."
Not strict, exact, or literal in interpretation, structure, or expression.
"The film is a loose adaptation of a nineteenth-century historical novel."
Not compact, dense, or closely woven in texture or soil structure.
"Root vegetables grow best in deep, loose soil that allows water to drain easily."
• adverb
In a manner that is free from restraint, confinement, or tight fastening (typically used with verbs such as 'hang', 'break', 'cut', or 'let').
"Her long hair hung loose over her shoulders during the rehearsal."
• verb
To set free or release from confinement, restraint, or fastening.
"The handler loosed the hounds at the edge of the meadow."
To discharge or let fly a projectile, arrow, or sudden expression of emotion.
"The archer drew the bowstring back to her ear and loosed an arrow toward the target."
Word Nuance & Usage
Frequently confused in spelling with 'lose' (pronounced with a voiced /z/ sound, meaning to misplace or fail to win); 'loose' is pronounced with an unvoiced /s/ sound and serves primarily as an adjective meaning not tight or not bound.
• Rhymes for loose
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed into Middle English from Old Norse 'lauss' (meaning free, unencumbered, or dissolved), which displaced the native Old English cognate 'leas' (now surviving only as the suffix '-less').