loose

A2 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /luːs/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like louche /s/ vs /ʃ/

adv adj Freq #1775

Meanings

1

adj
Not firmly fixed in place.

One of the buttons on my coat is loose.
2

adj
Not tight; fitting with extra room.

He wore a loose shirt because of the heat.
3

adj
Free to move around; not tied up or shut in.

The dog got loose and ran across the field.
4

adj
Not exact or strict.

They gave us a loose interpretation of the rules.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not firmly fixed in place. unaffixed

3 adj · free to move around; not... free

4 adj · not exact or strict. free liberal

More carefree diffuse fireloose-fittingpromiscuous relaxed shoot sluttytartyunsecuredunstapledwhorish

Opposites

bind boundclose-fittingcompact constrain discreet faithful fast fasten firmleashedmonogamous

Word family

Forms loosedlooserloosesloosestloosing

Derived forms looser

Related forms rickety separate

Common collocations

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Old Norse laussbor. Middle English loos English loose 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.

*lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European loos Middle English lauss Old Norse *lausaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

# loose

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adv, adj
**IPA (US):** luːs
**Frequency rank:** 1775

## Meanings
1. Not firmly fixed in place.
2. Not tight; fitting with extra room.
3. Free to move around; not tied up or shut in.
4. Not exact or strict.

## Examples
- One of the buttons on my coat is loose.
- He wore a loose shirt because of the heat.
- The dog got loose and ran across the field.
- They gave us a loose interpretation of the rules.

## Synonyms
- carefree
- diffuse
- fire
- loose-fitting
- promiscuous
- relaxed
- shoot
- slutty
- tarty
- unsecured
- unstapled
- whorish

## Antonyms
- bind
- bound
- close-fitting
- compact
- constrain
- discreet
- faithful
- fast
- fasten
- firm
- leashed
- monogamous

## Derived Forms
- looser

## Related Forms
- rickety
- separate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *lewh₁-
- Root: loos
- Root: lauss
- Root: *lausaz

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Old Norse laussbor. Middle English loos English loose 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.

## AI Etymology
Loose comes 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. In present-day English its meanings include not firmly fixed in place, not tight; fitting with extra room, and free to move around; not tied up or shut in. The historical chain runs through *lewh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), loos (Middle English), lauss (Old Norse), and *lausaz (Proto-Germanic). Related and derived forms include rickety, separate, and looser.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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loose

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