Loose or lose?
loose is a verb meaning “To let loose, to free from restraints”; lose is a verb meaning “To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) lose is about 4.2 times as common as loose.
What is the difference between loose and lose?
| loose | lose | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, adjective, noun, interjection | verb, noun |
| Meaning | To let loose, to free from restraints To unfasten, to loosen Not fixed in place tightly or firmly | To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident |
| Example | This wheelbarrow has a loose wheel | If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry |
| Forms | looses, loosing, loosed | loses, losing, lost |
| Pronunciation | /luːs/ /lʉws/ /lus/ | /luːz/ /luz/ /lʉːz/ |
| In writing | 29 times per million words | 120 times per million words |
Sources: loose and lose in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of loose and lose
loose
- 1
To let loose, to free from restraints
- 2
Not fixed in place tightly or firmly
This wheelbarrow has a loose wheel
- 3
The release of an arrow
- 4
begin shooting; release your arrows
- 5
To unfasten, to loosen
- 6
Not held or packaged together
You can buy apples in a pack, but they are cheaper loose
- 7
All play other than set pieces (scrums and line-outs)
- 8
To make less tight, to loosen
lose
- 1
To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability
If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry
- 2
Alternative form of loos (“praise; fame; reputation”)
- 3
To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident
Johnny lost a tooth, but kept it for the tooth fairy
- 4
To shed (weight)
I’ve lost five pounds this week
- 5
To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend)
She lost all her sons in the war
- 6
To pay or owe (some wager) due from an unsuccessful bet or gamble
Frank had lost $500 staying in Vegas
- 7
To be deprived of (some right or privileged access to something)
Users who engage in disruptive behavior may lose their accounts
- 8
To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from
I lost my way in the forest
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, loose or lose?
loose appears 29 times per million words; lose 120 times per million words.
loose 29 times per million wordslose 120 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search loose vs lose?
“loose vs lose” is searched about 49,500 times a month on Google and 1,270 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“lose vs loose”, “loose or lose”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.