loose

Less common meanings

10. 10
    soft bowelsadjectivedated

    Of the bowels, lax and freely moving rather than constipated.

    People that are very loose, have seldom strong Thoughts, or strong Bodies

    1693, [John Locke], Some Thoughts Concerning Education

    Similarlax

    Oppositeconstipated, costive

    Note

    An older medical use, the counterpart of costive: applied to a person, it meant having bowels that moved too freely. John Locke in 1693 could write that people who are very loose have seldom strong thoughts or strong bodies. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Historically, loose could describe a person with lax bowels, as the counterpart of costive. en.wiktionary.org
    • The cited work, John Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education, first appeared in 1693. en.wikipedia.org
    • Locke wrote the statement about loose people having seldom strong thoughts or bodies; the item gives an accurate indirect paraphrase. en.wikisource.org
11. 11
    immoraladjectivedated

    Free from moral restraint; regarded as immoral or unchaste.

    Polite society shunned her, branding her a loose woman.

    the loose morality which he had learned

    1826, [Walter Scott], Woodstock

    UsageExpresses disapproval, especially in a loose woman. For neutral wording, describe the specific behavior.

    Similarpromiscuous, wanton, immoral, dissolute, licentious

    Oppositechaste, virtuous, respectable

    Note

    A judgment more than a description, and an old one: Spenser's loose Ladies, Byron's page of any thing that's loose, Scott's loose morality. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Spenser used the phrase 'loose Ladies' in The Faerie Queene, confirming that this sense is old. gutenberg.org
    • Byron used 'page of any thing that's loose' in Don Juan, Canto I; the words belong to the narration. gutenberg.org
    • Walter Scott used 'loose morality' in Woodstock; the narrator describes Roger Wildrake. gutenberg.org
12. 12
    careless talkadjective

    Indiscreet; too free in speech and careless with secrets.

    The officer warned the recruits that loose talk costs lives.

    His loose remarks to a reporter sank the whole negotiation.

    UsageCommon in loose talk and loose lips, as in loose lips sink ships.

    Similarcareless, indiscreet, unguarded, idle

    Oppositediscreet, guarded, careful

13. 13
    shoot (arrow)verbtransitive

    To release and shoot an arrow from a drawn bow.

    The archer waited for the signal, then loosed a single arrow at the mark.

    Soldiers on the wall loose volley after volley at the advancing line.

    UsageUsually loose an arrow or loose a volley. The past form is loosed.

    Similarshoot, fire, release, discharge

    Note

    Shoot covers the whole act, while loose names the instant the string is let go, so it pairs naturally with arrow, shaft and volley. It shares its ground with the noun for the release and the battlefield command.

14. 14
    order to shootinterjection

    A command ordering archers to release their drawn arrows at once.

    "Loose!" came the order, and the volley streaked toward the wall.

    At the commander's "Loose!" the bowmen released as one.

    UsageSpelled Loose! (not incorrect: Lose!).

    Similarfire, shoot

    Note

    Here the arrow-shooting verb is pared down to a single shouted imperative. Behind it lie Old Norse lauss and a far older root meaning "to untie, set free": the order frees the drawn string. It belongs to bows and volleys, and its noun partner is the release of an arrow. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Loose derives through Middle English from Old Norse lauss. en.wiktionary.org
    • Its earlier ancestor is the Proto-Indo-European root *lewh₁-, meaning ‘to untie, set free, separate’. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    nouncountable

    The act of releasing or letting go of something, especially an arrow from a drawn bow.

    The instructor praised the steadiness of her loose.

    A jerky loose will send the arrow off course.

    Similarrelease

    Note

    The archer's noun for the moment of release, judged for its smoothness as much as its timing. Ben Jonson in 1641 extended it beyond the bow to darts and javelins: we force back our arms, to make our loose the stronger. It is the noun partner of the verb for shooting. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The Jonson passage was first published in 1641, in Timber, or Discoveries. cambridge.org
    • Jonson used the noun for throwing darts and javelins; the quotation accurately reproduces his words in modernized spelling. hcmc.uvic.ca
16. 16
    escapednoununcountable

    The state of being free from restraint or control.

    Two suspects remained on the loose after the bank raid.

    Once the cattle were on the loose, the ranchers worked all night to round them up.

    UsageAlmost always in on the loose: a prisoner on the loose.

    Similarrun

17. 17
    firewood measureadjective

    Of firewood or similar material, measured as a disorganized pile rather than neatly stacked.

    A loose cord of firewood contains more air gaps than a tightly stacked one.

    A cord of loose firewood holds less wood than one that is neatly stacked.

    Similarunstacked

    Oppositestacked

18. 18
    nounobsolete

    A condition of unchecked liberty or self-indulgence, in which restraint is cast off.

    They give a loose to their feelings on proper occasions.

    1847, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair

    Note

    An idiom more than a free noun. Thackeray's They give a loose to their feelings shows the fixed phrase give a loose to, meaning to let an emotion run unchecked. Addison and Fielding use the same phrase for sorrow and mirth. The sense is obsolete, and a modern writer would say give free rein to or give vent to. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Thackeray uses the quoted words in the narration of Vanity Fair. gutenberg.org
    • Give a loose to expresses freedom from restraint applied to an emotion. en.wiktionary.org
    • Addison uses the phrase with sorrow, in Marcia's speech in Cato, Act IV, scene I. en.wikisource.org
    • Fielding uses the phrase with mirth in the narration of Tom Jones. gutenberg.org
19. 19
    verbobsolete

    To set sail; to begin a sea voyage.

    Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

    1611, The Holy Bible, King James Version

    Note

    In the King James Bible, sailing is a matter of untying: Paul and his company loosed from Paphos. The verb is intransitive and takes from plus the place of departure, picturing a ship freed from its moorings. Outside biblical echoes or deliberate period style it sounds archaic. Modern English says set sail from or put out from. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The King James Bible describes Paul and his company as having loosed from Paphos. en.wikisource.org
    • In this example, loosed is intransitive, and from introduces the departure place. en.wikisource.org
    • The explanation connects sailing with release from ropes or anchorage; this is a supported interpretation of the nautical image. gutenberg.org
    • The sailing sense pictures release from the restraints holding a vessel. gutenberg.org
20. 20
    verbobsolete

    To solve or interpret, as a riddle or a difficult question.

    he had red her riddle, which no wight Could ever loose

    1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

    Note

    Spenser's riddle, which no wight could ever loose, shows the old metaphor behind this sense. A puzzle is a knot, and solving it is undoing it. That is the same picture as the root meaning "to untie" behind the freeing verb. Because the sense is obsolete, it reads as a conscious archaism in modern prose. Solve or unravel says the same thing plainly. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Spenser uses loose of solving a riddle; the wording occurs in the narrator's account in The Faerie Queene, Book V, Canto XI. en.wikisource.org
    • The knot explanation is a supported interpretation of the metaphor of solving as undoing. en.wiktionary.org
    • Loose ultimately has a root meaning 'to untie'. en.wiktionary.org
21. 21
    verbarchaic

    To undo, unfasten, or make something less tight; to loosen.
22. 22
    adjectiveslangUS

    Of a race car, having oversteer, so the rear end tends to slide outward in turns.
23. 23
    verbrare

    Of a grip or hold, to let go and release.
24. 24
    noun

    In rugby, all play other than set pieces such as scrums and line-outs.