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PlainSpell

loose

/lus/verb, adjective, noun, interjection

loose is a verb meaning “To let loose, to free from restraints” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled L-O-O-S-E and has one syllable, and it appears 29 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).

What does loose mean?

verb

  1. 1

    To let loose, to free from restraints.

  2. 2

    To unfasten, to loosen.

  3. 3

    To make less tight, to loosen.

  4. 4

    Of a grip or hold, to let go.

  5. 5

    To shoot (an arrow).

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo set sail.

  7. 7

    obsoleteTo solve; to interpret.

adjective

  1. 1

    Not fixed in place tightly or firmly.

    This wheelbarrow has a loose wheel.

  2. 2

    Not held or packaged together.

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

  3. 3

    Not under control.

    The dog is loose again.

  4. 4

    Not fitting closely.

    I wear loose clothes when it is hot.

  5. 5

    Not compact.

    It is difficult walking on loose gravel.

  6. 6

    Relaxed.

    She danced with a loose flowing movement.

  7. 7

    Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate.

    a loose way of reasoning

  8. 8

    Indiscreet.

    Loose talk costs lives.

noun

  1. 1

    The release of an arrow.

  2. 2

    obsoleteA state of laxity or indulgence; unrestrained freedom, abandonment.

  3. 3

    All play other than set pieces (scrums and line-outs).

  4. 4

    Freedom from restraint.

  5. 5

    A letting go; discharge.

interjection

  1. 1

    begin shooting; release your arrows

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you pronounce loose?

  • UK /luːs/
  • British /lʉws/
  • US /lus/

Loose has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-loose.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of loose

  • looses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • loosing participle, present
  • loosed participle, past
  • looser comparative
  • loosest superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How common is loose?

Loose appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

Words people confuse with loose

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

loose vs lose49,500 G

Also written: lose, louse.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Loose in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanlösen (to let loose), lockern (to make less tight), loslassen (to let go), lose, locker (not fixed tightly), entspannt (relaxed)
Portuguesesoltar, liberar, libertar (to let loose), afrouxar (to make less tight), frouxo (not fixed tightly), desamarrar (to unfasten)
Spanishsoltar, desatar, liberar (to let loose), flojo (not fixed tightly), desabrochar, desamarrar (to unfasten)
Frenchlâche, mal fixé (not fixed tightly), défaire (to unfasten), à la pièce (not packaged), lousse, ample (not fitting tightly)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does loose come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).