loose

verb

1. (transitive)To let loose, to free from restraints.

   “Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them unto me.”

   “And it was Thora, the little Dwarf's wife, The five rune-books she took out; So she loosed him fully out of the runes, Her daughter had bound him about.”

   “"Ay, and one was nigh to being slain by the hot-pot to be eaten of those brutes, thy children, and had not the others fought gallantly they too had been slain, and not even I could have called back the life which had been loosed from the body."”

2. (transitive)To unfasten, to loosen.
3. (transitive)To make less tight, to loosen.
4. (intransitive)Of a grip or hold, to let go.
5. To shoot (an arrow).
6. (obsolete)To set sail.

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

7. (obsolete)To solve; to interpret.

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

8. (alt-of, obsolete)Obsolete form of lose.

   “And now I feare that fatall Prophecie, / Which in the time of Henry, nam'd the Fift, / Was in the mouth of euery ſucking Babe, / That Henry borne at Monmouth ſhould winne all, / And Henry borne at Windſor, looſe all: […]”

   “[W]e went to the Chetto de san Felice, to see the noblemen and their ladies at Basset, a game at cards which is much used, but they play not in public, and all that have inclination to it are in masquerade, without speaking one word, and so they come in, play, loose or gaine, and go away as they please.”

   “And ſince the Law would not ſuſtain Action for it, at the gainers inſtance againſt the Debitor who looſed it, much leſſe ſhould it ſuſtain a Diſpoſition for payment of it againſt the Creditors, and yet this may be ſaid to be an onerous cauſe; for the looſer hazarded as much of his own, againſt what he gained, and ſo this Game was but the return of his Money: […]”

9. (alt-of, misspelling)Misspelling of lose.

   “I'm going to loose this game.”

adj

1. Not fixed in place tightly or firmly.

   “This wheelbarrow has a loose wheel.”

2. Not held or packaged together.

   “You can buy apples in a pack, but they are cheaper loose.”

3. Not under control.

   “The dog is loose again.”

   “The very idea of a machine set loose to slaughter is chilling.”

   “Now I stand / Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts?”

4. Not fitting closely.

   “I wear loose clothes when it is hot.”

5. Not compact.

   “It is difficult walking on loose gravel.”

   “a cloth of loose texture”

   “with horse and chariots ranked in loose array”

6. Relaxed.

   “She danced with a loose flowing movement.”

7. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate.

   “a loose way of reasoning”

   “The comparison employed […] must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation.”

8. Indiscreet.

   “Loose talk costs lives.”

9. (dated)Free from moral restraint; immoral, unchaste.

   “In all these he was much and deeply read; / But not a page of any thing that's loose, / Or hints continuation of the species, / Was ever suffer'd, lest he should grow vicious.”

   “to seeke her errant Knight; / And then againe resolu'd to hunt him out / Amongst loose Ladies, lapped in delight”

   “the loose morality which he had learned”

10. (not-comparable)Not being in the possession of any competing team during a game.

    “He caught an elbow going after a loose ball.”

    “The puck was momentarily loose right in front of the net.”

    “Tomas Rosicky released the left-back with a fine pass but his low cross was cut out by Ivan Marcano. However the Brazilian was able to collect the loose ball, cut inside and roll a right-footed effort past Franco Costanzo at his near post.”

11. (dated)Not costive; having lax bowels.

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

12. Measured loosely stacked or disorganized (such as of firewood).
13. (US, slang)Having oversteer.

noun

1. The release of an arrow.

   “In throwing a Dart, or Iavelin, wee force back our armes, to make our loose the stronger.”

2. (obsolete)A state of laxity or indulgence; unrestrained freedom, abandonment.

   “They give a loose to their feelings on proper occasions.”

3. All play other than set pieces (scrums and line-outs).

   “The defeat will leave manager Martin Johnson under pressure after his gamble of pairing Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood at 10 and 12 failed to ignite the England back line, while his forwards were repeatedly second best at the set-piece and in the loose.”

4. Freedom from restraint.

   “Vent all its griefs, and give a loose to sorrow.”

   “The doctor now interposed, and prevented the effects of a wrath which was kindling between Jones and Thwackum; after which the former gave a loose to mirth, sang two or three amorous songs, and fell into every frantic disorder which unbridled joy is apt to inspire […]”

5. A letting go; discharge.

intj

1. begin shooting; release your arrows

name

1. A surname.