loop

USLOOP/luːp/

32 meanings of loop

1
nouncountable
A piece of string or rope bent back so it makes a round opening.
Like the round opening you make when you bend a shoelace back on itself.
She made a loop in the string to hang the picture.
Pull the rope through the loop and tie it tight.
Similarring, eye, bight, hoop
Note
2
nouncountable
A curved line that bends around and crosses over itself.
Like the curl you make when you write a cursive letter e.
The skater carved a perfect loop on the ice.
Her handwriting has a big loop on every letter g.
Similarcircle, curve, coil, spiral, twist
3
verbtransitive
To bend something into a round shape with an opening.
She looped the ribbon to make a bow.
Loop the wire and twist the ends together.
Similarcoil, curl, bend, twist, wind
Oppositestraighten, uncoil
4
verbintransitive
To bend around and make a round shape.
The trail loops back to the parking lot.
Mountain roads often loop around steep valleys.
Similarcurve, bend, wind, meander, coil
Oppositestraighten
5
nouncountable
A strip of tape or film joined end to end so it plays over and over.
Like a song set to play again and again with no real end.
The museum played a short film on a loop all day.
The DJ set the beat to run as a loop.
6
verbtransitive
To play a song or video over and over without stopping.
The cafe loops the same playlist every afternoon.
Loop the video so visitors always see the intro.
Similarrepeat, replay, cycle
7
nouncountable
A part of a program that repeats the same steps until a certain thing happens.
Like singing the same verse over and over until someone tells you to stop.
The loop kept printing numbers until it reached ten.
A loop saves you from writing the same line a hundred times.
Note
8
verbintransitive
To move along a path that curves around in a circle.
The eagle looped over the valley before diving.
Stunt planes loop and roll above the airfield.
Similarcircle, swoop, wheel, spiral, whirl
Note
9
verbtransitive
To tie or wrap something using a loop.
He looped a rope around the fence rail.
Loop the strap around the bag's handle.
Similarwrap, wind, tie, hitch, twist
Oppositeuntie, unwind, unhitch
10
verbtransitive
To swing or move something along a curving path.
The dancer looped her long ribbon through the air in big circles.
Loop the yo-yo around in a big circle.
Similarswing, twirl, whirl, circle, spin

11
nouncountable
The round hole made when a string or rope is bent back on itself.
Slip the hook through the loop to fasten it.
The button passes through a small loop of fabric.
Similareye, opening, hole, ring
12
nouncountable
A road that circles around a city and brings you back to the start.
Traffic on the loop was backed up for miles.
Take the loop to avoid downtown during rush hour.
Similarbeltway, bypass, orbital
13
nouncountable
A complete path that lets electricity flow around a circuit.
Like water that can only flow when the pipe makes a full circle back to the start.
Electricity flows only when the loop is unbroken.
If the loop is cut anywhere, the light goes out.
Similarcircuit
14
nouncountable
A flying trick where a plane makes a full circle up and over in the air.
Like a roller coaster going up and over in one full circle.
The pilot did a loop to thrill the crowd.
Every loop got a loud cheer from the audience.
15
nouncountable
A bus, train, or walking route that starts and ends in the same place.
The shuttle runs a loop around the campus.
We walked the whole loop in about an hour.
Similarcircuit, circle
Note
16
verbtransitive
To fly a plane in a full circle, going up, over, and back down.
Like drawing a big circle in the air with the plane.
The pilot looped the little plane high above the cheering crowd.
Student pilots learn to loop the trainer aircraft safely.
17
verbtransitive
To connect electrical parts together so that electricity can flow around.
Like joining the ends of a chain so it makes a full ring.
The electrician looped the wires to finish the circuit.
You loop the two ends together to make the light work.
Similarwire, connect, link, join
Oppositedisconnect
18
nouncountable
A path that begins and ends at the very same spot.
Like walking around the block and ending up at your own front door.
The runners followed a loop that brought them back to the start.
She drew a loop on the map, ending where she began.
Note
19
nouncountable
A line in a diagram that connects a point back to itself.
The diagram had a loop joining the dot to itself.
Count the lines at each point, and remember that a loop at a point counts twice.
Note
20
nouncountable
A small bendy device shaped like a loop that is placed in the womb to prevent pregnancy.
Her doctor fitted a loop to help with birth control.
Many women in the 1970s chose the loop instead of the pill.
Similarcoil, IUD
21
verbtransitive
To make a mistake in a program so it repeats forever and the computer freezes.
Like getting stuck saying the same sentence over and over and never stopping.
A bad line of code looped the whole game.
If you loop the program, the screen will freeze.
Similarhang, freeze, crash
22
verbtransitive
To put something into the shape of a loop, or inside a loop.
Like winding a piece of string into a circle.
He looped his foot into the stirrup.
Loop the string through the hole and pull it tight.
Similarthread, pass, run, wind, coil
Note
23
noununcountable
The curved, rising path of a slowly spun ball in cricket.
Like a high, curving throw that drops down faster than the batter expects.
The bowler gave the ball plenty of loop before it dipped.
A good loop tricks the batter into mistiming the shot.
Similarflight, arc
Note
24
nouncountable
A bendy section that connects the more rigid parts of a protein.
Like a soft, bendy bit of wire joining two stiff straight pieces.
The protein folds with a loop between two coiled parts.
A short loop links the two flat sections of the molecule.
Note
25
nouncountable
A math system whose combining table has every member once in each row and column, and one member that changes nothing.
Students studied a loop in their algebra class.
In her loop, the letter e changes nothing it is combined with.
Note
26
nouncountable
A small, narrow opening in a wall, like a slit you can look or shoot through.
Like a thin slot in a wall that you can just peek through.
The archer aimed through a narrow loop in the castle wall.
Light came in through a small loop above the door.
Similarslit, embrasure
Note
27
nouncountable
A curved track at the end of a line that lets a train turn around without backing up.
Like a turnaround at the end of a driveway, but for trains.
The tram used the loop to head back into the city.
At the end of the route, the train follows a loop to face the other way.
Similarturnaround
Note
28
nouncountable
A short stretch of extra track that lets one train wait while another goes by.
Like a wider spot on a narrow road where two cars can squeeze past each other.
The slow freight waited in the loop while the express passed.
Single-track lines need a loop so trains can pass each other.
Similarsiding
Note
29
verbtransitive or intransitive
To move up through several grades with the same class of students, as a teacher.
Like having the same coach stay with a team for several seasons in a row.
Our teacher looped with us from third grade to fourth.
Some schools let teachers loop so they know their students well.
Note
30
noundatedCanadaUScountable
A group of sports teams that play one another in an organized league.
Like all the teams in one big competition grouped together.
Half the boys in town hoped to make the big loop someday.
Arellano formerly cavorted for the Galicias in the fast-paced National-American Soccer loop.
1963, “Italias Vie In Bayonne On Sunday”, in The Jersey JournalHere, loop means a sports league, a group of teams that play each other.
Similarleague, circuit
Note
31
noun
A lump of soft hot iron from a furnace.
32
verb
To lay a second pipeline along the same route as an existing one.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of loop apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English loupe meaning "noose" or "loop." It came from Old Norse hlaup, "a run," used to mean a "running knot," from hlaupa, "to leap."