on the loose

loose  (ls)

adj. loos·er, loos·est

1. Not fastened, restrained, or contained: loose bricks.

2. Not taut, fixed, or rigid: a loose anchor line; a loose chair leg.

3. Free from confinement or imprisonment; unfettered: criminals loose in the neighborhood; dogs that are loose on the streets.

4. Not tight-fitting or tightly fitted: loose shoes.

5. Not bound, bundled, stapled, or gathered together: loose papers.

6. Not compact or dense in arrangement or structure: loose gravel.

7. Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; idle: loose talk.

8. Not formal; relaxed: a loose atmosphere at the club.

9. Lacking conventional moral restraint in sexual behavior.

10. Not literal or exact: a loose translation.

11. Characterized by a free movement of fluids in the body: a loose cough; loose bowels.

adv.

In a loose manner.

v. loosed, loos·ing, loos·es

v.tr.

1. To let loose; release: loosed the dogs.

2. To make loose; undo: loosed his belt.

3. To cast loose; detach: hikers loosing their packs at camp.

4. To let fly; discharge: loosed an arrow.

5. To release pressure or obligation from; absolve: loosed her from the responsibility.

6. To make less strict; relax: a leader's strong authority that was loosed by easy times.

v.intr.

1. To become loose.

2. To discharge a missile; fire.

Idiom:

on the loose

1. At large; free.

2. Acting in an uninhibited fashion.

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[Middle English louse, los, from Old Norse lauss; see leu- in Indo-European roots.]

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loosely adv.

looseness n.

Synonyms: loose, lax, slack¹
These adjectives mean not tautly bound, held, or fastened: loose reins; a lax rope; slack sails.

Antonym: tight

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

on the loose - having escaped, especially from confinement; "a convict still at large"; "searching for two escaped prisoners"; "dogs loose on the streets"; "criminals on the loose in the neighborhood" at large, escaped, loose free - able to act at will; not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint; "free enterprise"; "a free port"; "a free country"; "I have an hour free"; "free will"; "free of racism"; "feel free to stay as long as you wish"; "a free choice"