Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - loose

~1 adj 1 »NOT FIXED« not firmly fixed in place  (One of my buttons is loose. | a loose floorboard | come/work loose (=become loose))  (A piece of stair carpet had come loose.) 2 »ROPE/CHAIN ETC« a rope, chain etc that is loose is not fastened as firmly or pulled as tight as it should be 3 »CLOTHES« clothes that are loose are big and do not fit your body tightly  (a loose sweatshirt) 4 »FREE« an animal or person that is loose is free to move around and not tied to anything or shut in anywhere  (break/get loose (=get free))  (Somehow the horses had broken loose during the night. | turn/let sth loose (=let something go free))  (Don't let your dog loose if there are any sheep around.) 5 »NOT TOGETHER« not tied together, fastened to anything else, or put together in one package  (Do they sell these olives loose? | Do you like loose tea, or teabags? | Her hair fell loose around her shoulders.) 6 »CLOTH/A KNOT ETC« tied or woven in a way that is not tight  (a loose knot | a loose weave) 7 »NOT EXACT« usually before noun not exact or thoroughly done  (loose translation/interpretation etc)  (This is only a loose translation of the original paper.) 8 »NOT CONTROLLED« not strictly controlled or organized  (a loose, informal trading system) 9 »IMMORAL« old-fashioned behaving in a way that is considered to be sexually immoral  (a loose woman) 10 »TALK« old-fashioned not careful about what you say or who is listening  (There's been a bit of loose talk about it.) 11 »BODY WASTE« not technical having a problem in which the waste from your bowels has too much liquid in it  (loose motions | He's a bit loose in the mornings.) 12 cut loose a) to free yourself from the influence of someone or something  (Anna had finally managed to cut loose from her father's domineering influence.) b) AmE informal to start enjoying yourself in a happy, noisy way after a period of controlled behaviour  (After the exams we'll really have a chance to cut loose.) 13 let sb loose on sth to allow someone to deal with something in the way they want to  (Whatever you do, don't let Derek loose on the garden!) 14 be at a loose end also be at loose ends AmE to have nothing to do  (I was at a loose end so I decided to go see an old movie.) 15 loose ends parts of something that have not been completed or properly done  (tie up the loose ends (=complete something, or deal with any remaining problems))  (It's a good report but there are still a few loose ends to be tied up.) 16 loose change coins that you have in your bag or pocket  (I've got twenty quid and a bit of loose change as well.) 17 hang/stay loose AmE spoken used to tell someone to stay calm, or not to worry about something - loosely adv  (Just tie it loosely. | Loosely translated it means `watch out'.) - looseness n ~2 v 1 to untie someone or something, especially an animal 2 literary to fire an arrow (1), a shot from a gun etc 3 to make something unpleasant begin  (The recent court case has loosed a spate of racist attacks.) loose sth on/upon phr v to allow something dangerous or destructive to begin to affect a situation or other people  (A potentially lethal drug has been loosed upon unsuspecting kids looking for a quick high.) ~3 adv loosely  (- see also play fast and loose with fast2 (10)) ~4 n be on the loose if a criminal or dangerous animal is on the loose, they have escaped from prison or from their cage