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.

loosening

(ˈluːsənɪŋ)

a relaxing of something: a loosening of monetary policy.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	loosening - an occurrence of control or strength weakening; "the relaxation of requirements"; "the loosening of his grip"; "the slackening of the wind" slackening, relaxation weakening - becoming weaker thaw - a relaxation or slackening of tensions or reserve; becoming less hostile; "the thaw between the United States and Russia has led to increased cooperation in world affairs"
	2.	loosening - the act of making something less tight laxation unfastening, untying, undoing - loosening the ties that fasten something; "the tying of bow ties is an art; the untying is easy" modification, adjustment, alteration - the act of making something different (as e.g. the size of a garment) tightening - the act of making something tighter; "the tightening of economic controls"

Translations

loosening

[ˈluːs^ənɪŋ] n [controls, regulations] → relâchement m, assouplissement m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

With that he bent his good bow, and sent a shaft right through the breast of one of the men-at-arms, who, under De Bracy's direction, was loosening a fragment from one of the battlements to precipitate on the heads of Cedric and the Black Knight.

Deus vobiscum, most doughty Athelstane!'' he concluded, loosening the hold which he had hitherto kept upon the Saxon's tunic.

View in context

Loosening this, he spread the noose upon the ground behind him, and with a quick movement of his wrist tossed the coils over one of the sharpened projections of the summit of the palisade.

View in context

This accomplished, he pried gently and carefully, loosening the jaws a bit at a time, while Matt, a bit at a time, extricated White Fang's mangled neck.

View in context

At the first sound of trampling hoofs and shouting, Petya lashed his horse and loosening his rein galloped forward, not heeding Denisov who shouted at him.

View in context

Among the tests carried out were a series of about 12 high temperature bake-outs, where screws and their matching internal thread forms were heated from room temperature to 300[degrees]C to simulate temperature-induced thread loosening.

From Earth to Saturn: getting a grip on vibration, shock, and extreme temperature

The team studied 40 men: 20 with normal eyesight and 20 with glaucoma, measuring intraocular pressure with the men's shirt collars open, after wearing a fight necktie for 3 minutes, and 3 minutes after loosening it (Br.

Cravat emptor

If you're working in an area where the soil needs some loosening, but allows you to return the removed soil back to the excavation, connect an air nozzle to the optional Mud Dog onboard 185-cfm air compressor.

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In addition, the increase in production of the hormone relaxin (which the body uses to prepare for labor) causes a loosening of the connective tissue around those joints and creates instability.

Prenatal health through massage therapy: for women and their babies: Julie Howell, N.M.T., P.M.T., details the benefits and debunks the myths of massage for the expecting

Overall, aqueous solutions do a fairly good job of expanding and loosening or dissolving cerumen plugs.

Update on cerumen and ceruminolytics

The bruising causes the nail to separate from the skin, so the loosening you describe isn't surprising.

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Uncemented prostheses were developed about 20 years ago to try to avoid the possibility of loosening parts and the breaking off of cement particles, which sometimes happen in the cemented replacement.

Questions and answers about hip replacement. (Health Topics)