loosely

loosely
loose ADJECTIVE 1) not firmly or tightly fixed in place. 2) not held, tied, or packaged together. 3) not bound or tethered. 4) not fitting tightly or closely. 5) not dense or compact. 6) relaxed: her loose, easy stride. 7) careless and indiscreet: loose talk. 8) not strict; inexact. 9) dated promiscuous or immoral. 10) (of the ball in a game) in play but not in any player's possession.
VERB 1) unfasten or set free. 2) relax (one's grip). 3) (usu. loose off) discharge; fire.
hang (or stay) loose — Cf. ↑stay loose
on the loose — Cf. ↑on the loose
DERIVATIVES loosely adverb looseness noun.
USAGE The word loose is sometimes confused with lose; as a verb loose means ‘unfasten or set free’, while lose means ‘cease to have’ or ‘become unable to find’. It is therefore incorrect to say this would cause them to loose 20 percent , the correct version being … to lose 20 per cent.
ORIGIN Old Norse.

English terms dictionary. 2015.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Loosely — Loose ly, adv. In a loose manner. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • loosely — late 14c., from LOOSE (Cf. loose) + LY (Cf. ly) (2) …   Etymology dictionary

  • loosely — loose|ly [ lusli ] adverb * 1. ) not in an exact or detailed way: loosely translated The two terms are employed very loosely, and are often interchangeable. 2. ) not firmly or tightly: He held the rope loosely in his right hand. 3. ) not… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • loosely */ — UK [ˈluːslɪ] / US [ˈluslɪ] adverb 1) not firmly or tightly He held the rope loosely in his right hand. 2) not in an exact or detailed way loosely translated The two terms are employed very loosely, and are often interchangeable. 3) not according… …   English dictionary

  • Loosely — The Buckinghamshire village now known as Loosely Row, two miles from Princes Risborough is the probable place of origin of this English surname. There is however a place in Surrey called Losely Park near Guildford, and it is just possible that… …   Surnames reference

  • loosely — adverb 1. in a relaxed manner; not rigid (Freq. 6) his hands lay loosely • Syn: ↑slackly • Derived from adjective: ↑slack (for: ↑slackly), ↑loose …   Useful english dictionary

  • loosely — adverb a) In a loose manner. Insert all the bolts loosely, then tighten them. b) Not tightly. Its red, to use the term loosely, sort of brown and sort of orange, lets call it reddish. Ant: tightly …   Wiktionary

  • loosely — adv. Loosely is used with these adjectives: ↑allied, ↑attached, ↑organized, ↑related, ↑woven Loosely is used with these verbs: ↑attach, ↑base, ↑bind, ↑clasp, ↑coil, ↑conn …   Collocations dictionary

  • loosely — [ˈluːsli] adv 1) not firmly or tightly 2) not in an exact or detailed way loosely translated[/ex] 3) not according to a strict system or official set of rules a loosely organized group of criminal gangs[/ex] …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • Loosely Tight — is an American hard rock band originally based out of Phoenix, AZ. The band came to prominence after taking top honors at the 1979 California World Music Festival held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In conjunction with their festival… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”