loos·en

(lo͞o′sən)

v. loos·ened, loos·en·ing, loos·ens

v.tr.

1. To make looser or less tight: loosened his tie; loosened her grip on the rope.

2. To free from restraint, pressure, or strictness: loosened the requirements for graduation.

3. To free (the bowels) from constipation.

v.intr.

To become loose or looser: My shoelace has loosened.

Phrasal Verb:

loosen up

1. To do stretches or light exercise before a more strenuous activity.

2. To become less strict or tense, as in one's demeanor; relax: always loosened up after he got home.

[Middle English lousnen, losnen, from losen, from los, loose; see loose.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb	1.	loosen up - cause to become unblocked; "The medicine unstuffed my nose in minutes!" unstuff disengage, free - free or remove obstruction from; "free a path across the cluttered floor" unblock - clear or remove an obstruction from; "the procedure unblocked his arteries"
	2.	loosen up - become less tense, less formal, or less restrained, and assume a friendlier manner; "our new colleague relaxed when he saw that we were a friendly group" relax behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"
	3.	loosen up - make one's body limber or suppler by stretching, as if to prepare for strenuous physical activity limber up, warm up exercise, work out - do physical exercise; "She works out in the gym every day"
	4.	loosen up - become less tense, rest, or take one's ease; "He relaxed in the hot tub"; "Let's all relax after a hard day's work" relax, decompress, unwind, slow down, unbend vege out, vegetate - engage in passive relaxation; "After a hard day's work, I vegetate in front of the television" sit back, take it easy - settle into a comfortable sitting position change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election"
	5.	loosen up - cause to feel relaxed; "A hot bath always relaxes me" make relaxed, unlax, unstrain, unwind, relax affect - act physically on; have an effect upon; "the medicine affects my heart rate" unbend - release from mental strain, tension, or formality; "unbend the mind from absorbing too much information"

Translations

sciogliere [i muscoli]

w>loosen up

vt sep muscles → lockern; soil → auflockern

vi (muscles) → locker werden; (athlete) → sich (auf)lockern; (= relax) → auftauen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007