loose

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Not firmly fixed in place.

   One of the buttons on my coat is loose.

2. 2
   adj

   Not tight; fitting with extra room.

   He wore a loose shirt because of the heat.

3. 3
   adj

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

   The dog got loose and ran across the field.

4. 4
   adj

   Not exact or strict.

   They gave us a loose interpretation of the rules.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Loose is a Middle English word related to Old English lose and loss and to the suffix -less, meaning “without.” Its sense “immoral” or “promiscuous,” recorded from about 1470, developed from the idea of being free from bonds or restraint.

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.

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