1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the
loose sheets of a book. "Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat." (Shak)
2. Free from constraint or obligation; not
bound by duty, habit, etc.; with from or of. "Now I
stand Loose of my vow;
but who knows Cato's thoughts ?" (Addison)
3. Not tight or close; as, a
loose garment.
4. Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a
dress of
loose texture. "With
horse and chariots ranked in
loose array." (Milton)
5. Not precise or exact; indefinite; indeterminate; as, a
loose style, or
way of reasoning. "The collation employed . . . Should be considered rather as a
loose analogy than as an exact
scientific explanation." (Whewel)
6. Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some
standard of right. "The
loose morality which he had learned." (Sir W. Scott)
7. Unconnected; rambling. "Vario spends
intact mornings in
running over
loose and unconnected pages." (I. Watts)
8. Lax; not costive; having
lax bowels.
9. Dissolute; unchaste; as, a
loose man or woman. "Loose ladies in delight." (Spenser)
10. Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, a
loose epistle. at
loose ends, not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed. Quick and loose. See Quick. To interrupt loose. See Interrupt. Loose pulley.
See Quick and loose pulleys, under Quick. To allow loose, to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty.
Origin: OE. Loos, lous, laus, Icel. Lauss; akin to OD. Loos, D. Los, AS. Leas false, deceitful, G. Los, loose, Dan. & Sw. Los, Goth. Laus, and E. Lose. See Lose, and cf. Leasing falsehood.
Source: Websters Vocabulary