loose (looser comparative) (loosest superlative) (looses 3rd person present) (loosing present participle) (loosed past tense & past participle )
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 Something that is loose is not attached to anything, or held or contained in anything.
usu ADJ n
Frank emptied a handful of loose change on the table..., A page came loose and floated onto the tiles.
3 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.
ADJ after v, ADJ n, v-link ADJ
(=free)
She broke loose from his embrace and crossed to the window..., Why didn't you tell me she'd been set loose?...
4 adj Clothes that are loose are rather large and do not fit closely.
(=baggy) (Antonym: tight)
Wear loose clothes as they're more comfortable.
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 A loose grouping, arrangement, or organization is flexible rather than strictly controlled or organized.
usu ADJ n
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 If a person or an animal is on the loose, they are free because they have escaped from a person or place.
on the loose phrase v-link PHR
Up to a thousand prisoners may be on the loose inside the jail...
9 →
a loose cannon →
cannon →
all hell breaks loose →
hell
loose end (loose ends plural )
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 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
at a loose end phrase v-link PHR
Adolescents are most likely to get into trouble when they're at a loose end.
loose-fitting , loose fitting
Loose-fitting clothes are rather large and do not fit tightly on your body. adj usu ADJ n
