Meaning

13 senses
  1. Not fixed in place tightly or firmly.

    This wheelbarrow has a loose wheel.

    lose, locker

    непривя́занныйneprivjázannyj, неприкреплённыйneprikrepljónnyj, развя́занныйrazvjázannyj

    вільнийvilʹnyj

  2. Not held or packaged together.

    You can buy apples in a pack, but they are cheaper loose.

  3. Not under control.

    The dog is loose again.

    (of a ball in sport) not in the possession or control of any player

  4. Not fitting closely.

    I wear loose clothes when it is hot.

    not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting

  5. Not compact.

    It is difficult walking on loose gravel.

    a cloth of loose texture

    ры́хлыйrýxlyj, неутрамбо́ванныйneutrambóvannyj

    not compact or dense in structure or arrangement

  6. Relaxed.

    She danced with a loose flowing movement.

    entspannt

    рассла́бленныйrassláblennyj

  7. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate.

    a loose way of reasoning

  8. Indiscreet.

    Loose talk costs lives.

    indiskret, lose

    неосторо́жныйneostoróžnyj, несде́ржанныйnesdéržannyj

  9. (dated)Free from moral restraint; immoral, unchaste.

    zügellos, ausschweifend, los

    распу́щенныйraspúščennyj, распу́тныйraspútnyj

  10. (not comparable)Not being in the possession of any competing team during a game.

    He caught an elbow going after a loose ball.

    The puck was momentarily loose right in front of the net.

  11. (dated)Not costive; having lax bowels, diarrheic.

  12. Measured loosely stacked or disorganized (such as of firewood).

Examples

294 sentences
  1. The girl let the bird loose.

    Дівчина відпустила пташку.

    ruДевочка выпустила птицу.

    deDas Mädchen ließ den Vogel entkommen.

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  2. This shirt is a little bit loose.

    Ця сорочка трохи завелика.

    ruРубашка чуть великовата.

    deDieses Hemd sitzt etwas locker.

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  3. This button is loose.

    Цей ґудзик відривається.

    deDieser Knopf ist locker.

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  4. Tom has a loose tongue.

    Том базікало.

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  5. I have a loose tooth.

    У мене хитається зуб.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
not fitting tightly:
Русский
By meaning 7
not packaged:
not fixed tightly:
not fitting tightly:
not compact:
relaxed:
indiscreet:
promiscuous:
Deutsch
By meaning 5
not packaged:
not fixed tightly:
relaxed:
indiscreet:
promiscuous:

Origin

From Middle English loos, los, lous, from Old Norse lauss, from Proto-Germanic *lausaz, wh

From Middle English loos, los, lous, from Old Norse lauss, from Proto-Germanic *lausaz, whence also -less, leasing; from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- (“to untie, set free, separate”), whence also lyo-, -lysis, via Ancient Greek.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

looser, loosest
Comparativelooser Lesson
Superlativeloosest Lesson

regular

Synonyms

29 synonyms
not bound or tethered or leashed:freeA1untethered
not held or packaged together:separateA2unpackaged
not compact:diffuseC2
not fixed in place tightly or firmly:unfastened
not fitting closely:baggy
indiscreet:indiscreet
promiscuous:promiscuous
relaxed:loose-limbed
Close in meaning

Antonyms

16 antonyms
not held or packaged together:packaged
not bound or tethered or leashed:boundB1leashedtetheredtiedtied up
indiscreet:discreet

Word family

62 related words

Collocations

6 patterns
  • loose ends
  • some loose ends
  • loose fitting
  • the dog loose
  • dog loose
  • some loose

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
loose — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto