loose

CEFRA2

/luːs/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Not firmly fixed, held, or tied.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    To make less tight, to loosen.

Examples

  • Check all the loose knots and fasten them tight.

  • He pulled at a loose strand of wool in his sweater.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈlʉs/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. To unfasten, to loosen.

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To let loose, to free from restraints.

  2. To shoot (an arrow).

More examples

In context

  • No money, no job, no friends. He was truly at loose ends.

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

  • The dog is loose again.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After losing considerable weight, her jeans were too blank and she needed a belt to keep them up.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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.