LOOSE
What does "LOOSE" mean?
Not firmly fixed in place; not tight, contained, or restrained.
Meanings
- Not held or fastened tightly; able to move freely. A loose floorboard creaked under his step.
- Free from confinement; at large. Somehow the dog got loose in the yard.
- Not exact or precise; approximate. It was a loose translation of the original poem.
- To set free, release, or let fly. The archer loosed an arrow at the target. formal
Did you know?
- 'Loose' and 'lose' are among the most-confused word pairs in English: 'loose' (two o's) means not tight, while 'lose' (one o) means to misplace or be defeated.
Word origin
From Old Norse 'lauss' (free, vacant), of Germanic origin, related to Old English 'leas'; entered Middle English as 'lous'. Often confused with the verb 'lose'.
Remember it
LOOSE has two o's because it's loose enough to fit an extra one; 'lose' only has room for one.
A little poem
The knot you tied too gently in the dark
comes loose by morning, drifting from its mark.
couplet
Wordplay
- If you lose a screw it's gone; if it comes loose it's still there - one o makes all the difference.
What it teaches
Hold things loosely enough to let them breathe, tightly enough not to lose them.
Quick facts
What does LOOSE mean?
Not firmly fixed in place; not tight, contained, or restrained.
Is LOOSE a valid word?
Yes — LOOSE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is LOOSE?
LOOSE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does LOOSE come from?
From Old Norse 'lauss' (free, vacant), of Germanic origin, related to Old English 'leas'; entered Middle English as 'lous'. Often confused with the verb 'lose'.
What can LOOSE teach us?
Hold things loosely enough to let them breathe, tightly enough not to lose them.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.