Loose

v. t. [imp. & p. p. LOOSED (lōost); p. pr. & vb. n. LOOSING.] [A-S. lēsan, lysan, O. Sax. lōsian, D. lozen, lossen, O. H. Ger. lōsan, N. H. Ger. lösen, Dan. löse, Sw. lösa, Icel. leysa, Goth. láusjan. See infra.]

1Sense 1. To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove the shackles of; to set free; to relieve.

Canst thou . . . loose the bands of Orion? Job xxxviii. 31.

Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them unto me. Matt. xxi. 2.

There's the man who, loosed from lust and pelf, Less to the pretor owes than to himself. Dryden.

2Sense 2. To release from any thing obligatory or burdensome; to disengage; hence, to absolve; to remit.

Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 1 Cor. vii. 27.

Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matt. xvi. 19.

3Sense 3. To relax; to loosen.

The joints of his loins were loosed. Dan. v. 6.

4Sense 4. To solve; to interpret. [Obs.]

He had read her riddle, which no wight Could ever loose. Spenser.

5Sense 5. To unfasten; to undo; to unlock.

Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? Rev. v. 2.

v. i. To set sail; to leave a port or harbor.

Now, when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga, in Pamphylia. Acts xiii. 13.

a. [compar. LOOSER; superl. LOOSEST.] [A.-S. leás, O. Sax. & M. H. Ger. lōs, N. H. Ger. & D. los, Dan. & Sw. lös, Icel. & Goth. laus, allied to lose, q. v.]

1Sense 1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not fastened or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.

2Sense 2. Free from obligation; disengaged; not attached nor enslaved; unengaged;—with from or of.

Their prevailing principle is, to sit as loose from pleasures, and be as moderate in the use of them, as they can. Atherbury.

Now I stand Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato’s thought? Addison.

3Sense 3. Not tight or close; as, a loose garment.

4Sense 4. Not crowded; not close or compact. “With horse and chariots ranked in loose array.” Milton.

5Sense 5. Not dense, close, or compact; as, a cloth of loose texture.

6Sense 6. Not close; not concise; not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose style, or way of reasoning.

Loose libels ought to be passed by in silence and contempt. Burke.

The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation. Whewell.

7Sense 7. Not strict or rigid; not controlled by moral restraints. “The loose morality which he had learned.” W. Scott.

8Sense 8. Unconnected; rambling; as, a loose, indigested play.

Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages. Watts.

9Sense 9. Not costive; having lax bowels.

10Sense 10. Unrestrained in behavior; dissolute; wanton; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.

11Sense 11. Containing unchaste language; as, a loose epistle.

At loose ends, not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed; neglected.—To break loose, to escape from confinement; to gain liberty by violence.—To let loose, to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty.

n. 1. Freedom from restraint; liberty. [Obs.] He runs with an unbounded loose. Prior. 2. A letting go; discharge; impulse; shot. [Obs.] In throwing a dart or javelin we force back our arms, to make our loose the stronger. B. Jonson. To give a loose, to give freedom. Come, give thy soul a loose. Dryden. Vent all its griefs, and give a loose to sorrow. Addison.