"let loose" meaning in English

See let loose in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-let loose.ogg [Australia] Forms: lets loose [present, singular, third-person], letting loose [participle, present], let loose [participle, past], let loose [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|let<,,let> loose}} let loose (third-person singular simple present lets loose, present participle letting loose, simple past and past participle let loose)
  1. (transitive, idiomatic) To free; to release from restraint. Tags: idiomatic, transitive Synonyms: unleash, set loose, go ape, holler, vociferate Synonyms (transitive: free, release): loose [verb] Translations (release from restraint): 放開 (Chinese Mandarin), 放开 (fàngkāi) (Chinese Mandarin), päästää irti (Finnish), irrottaa (Finnish), vapauttaa (Finnish), lâcher (French), loslassen (German), szabadjára ereszt (Hungarian), 切り放す (kirihanasu) (alt: きりはなす) (Japanese), 放す (hanasu) (alt: はなす) (Japanese), выпуска́ть (vypuskátʹ) [imperfective] (Russian), вы́пустить (výpustitʹ) [perfective] (Russian), отпуска́ть (otpuskátʹ) [imperfective] (Russian), отпусти́ть (otpustítʹ) [perfective] (Russian), leig mu sgaoil (Scottish Gaelic), soltar (Spanish), släppa lös (Swedish), släppa (Swedish), salmak (Turkish), serbest bırakmak (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-let_loose-en-verb-S~Ah~Fmp Disambiguation of 'transitive: free, release': 92 5 3 Disambiguation of 'release from restraint': 98 2 0
  2. (intransitive, idiomatic, sometimes followed by with or on) To shout, make a loud sound, or perform a sudden, vehement action; to behave in a raucous, frenzied manner. Tags: idiomatic, intransitive, sometimes Synonyms (intransitive: make a loud sound, behave in a frenzied manner): explode Translations (perform a sudden, vehement action): se déchaîner (French)
    Sense id: en-let_loose-en-verb-6zWdG7rh Disambiguation of 'intransitive: make a loud sound, behave in a frenzied manner': 9 80 11 Disambiguation of 'perform a sudden, vehement action': 1 76 23
  3. (euphemistic) To break wind. Tags: euphemistic
    Sense id: en-let_loose-en-verb-bKn5wF9L Categories (other): English euphemisms, English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 20 16 64

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for let loose meaning in English (7.3kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "lets loose",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "letting loose",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "let loose",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "let loose",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "let<,,let> loose"
      },
      "expansion": "let loose (third-person singular simple present lets loose, present participle letting loose, simple past and past participle let loose)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 2, in A Footnote to History",
          "text": "I can imagine the man . . . prepared to oppress rival firms, overthrow inconvenient monarchs, and let loose the dogs of war.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1916, Arthur Conan Doyle, “A Glimpse of the French Line”, in A Visit to Three Fronts",
          "text": "May God's curse rest upon the arrogant men and the unholy ambitions which let loose this horror upon humanity!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 March 27, “Tennis: Venus wins”, in USA Today, retrieved 2011-07-22",
          "text": "Mardy Fish walloped the final shot of the match for a winner, and he let loose a jubilant roar of his own.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 February 22, Howard Johnston, “Southern '313s': is the end now in sight?”, in RAIL, number 977, page 41",
          "text": "After an initial two weeks on the Hampton Court line, they were let loose on peak and off-peak services to Shepperton and Chessington for a month, and then on Charing Cross/Cannon Street services to Bromley North, Sevenoaks via Orpington, and to Dartford via Bexleyheath and Sidcup.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To free; to release from restraint."
      ],
      "id": "en-let_loose-en-verb-S~Ah~Fmp",
      "links": [
        [
          "free",
          "free"
        ],
        [
          "release",
          "release"
        ],
        [
          "restraint",
          "restraint"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To free; to release from restraint."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "92 5 3",
          "sense": "transitive: free, release",
          "tags": [
            "verb"
          ],
          "word": "loose"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "62 10 29",
          "word": "unleash"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "62 10 29",
          "word": "set loose"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "62 10 29",
          "word": "go ape"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "62 10 29",
          "word": "holler"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "62 10 29",
          "word": "vociferate"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "放開"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "fàngkāi",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "放开"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "päästää irti"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "irrottaa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "vapauttaa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "lâcher"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "loslassen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "szabadjára ereszt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "alt": "きりはなす",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "kirihanasu",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "切り放す"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "alt": "はなす",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "hanasu",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "放す"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "vypuskátʹ",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "выпуска́ть"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "výpustitʹ",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "вы́пустить"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "otpuskátʹ",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "отпуска́ть"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "otpustítʹ",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "отпусти́ть"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "leig mu sgaoil"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "soltar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "släppa lös"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "släppa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "salmak"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2 0",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "release from restraint",
          "word": "serbest bırakmak"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1901, Harold MacGrath, chapter 17, in The Puppet Crown",
          "text": "He set his teeth, and let loose with a fury before which nothing could stand; and Maurice was forced back step by step until he was almost up with the wall.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1965 November 12, “Jazz: The Newest Sound”, in Time",
          "text": "Thus encouraged, the Tijuana Brass let loose with its patented version of The Lonely Bull.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 December 27, “Report: Jack Black recalls 'lost weekend'”, in USA Today, retrieved 2011-07-22",
          "text": "As if a giant ape weren't enough to get Jack Black going in King Kong, the actor says he let loose one time while making the film.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To shout, make a loud sound, or perform a sudden, vehement action; to behave in a raucous, frenzied manner."
      ],
      "id": "en-let_loose-en-verb-6zWdG7rh",
      "links": [
        [
          "with",
          "with#English"
        ],
        [
          "on",
          "on#English"
        ],
        [
          "shout",
          "shout"
        ],
        [
          "loud",
          "loud"
        ],
        [
          "vehement",
          "vehement"
        ],
        [
          "raucous",
          "raucous"
        ],
        [
          "frenzied",
          "frenzied"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic, sometimes followed by with or on) To shout, make a loud sound, or perform a sudden, vehement action; to behave in a raucous, frenzied manner."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "followed by with or on"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "9 80 11",
          "sense": "intransitive: make a loud sound, behave in a frenzied manner",
          "word": "explode"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive",
        "sometimes"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "1 76 23",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "perform a sudden, vehement action",
          "word": "se déchaîner"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English euphemisms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 16 64",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Sorry for letting loose.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To break wind."
      ],
      "id": "en-let_loose-en-verb-bKn5wF9L",
      "links": [
        [
          "break wind",
          "break wind"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(euphemistic) To break wind."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-let loose.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f0/En-au-let_loose.ogg/En-au-let_loose.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/En-au-let_loose.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "let loose"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "lets loose",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "letting loose",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "let loose",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "let loose",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "let<,,let> loose"
      },
      "expansion": "let loose (third-person singular simple present lets loose, present participle letting loose, simple past and past participle let loose)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 2, in A Footnote to History",
          "text": "I can imagine the man . . . prepared to oppress rival firms, overthrow inconvenient monarchs, and let loose the dogs of war.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1916, Arthur Conan Doyle, “A Glimpse of the French Line”, in A Visit to Three Fronts",
          "text": "May God's curse rest upon the arrogant men and the unholy ambitions which let loose this horror upon humanity!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 March 27, “Tennis: Venus wins”, in USA Today, retrieved 2011-07-22",
          "text": "Mardy Fish walloped the final shot of the match for a winner, and he let loose a jubilant roar of his own.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 February 22, Howard Johnston, “Southern '313s': is the end now in sight?”, in RAIL, number 977, page 41",
          "text": "After an initial two weeks on the Hampton Court line, they were let loose on peak and off-peak services to Shepperton and Chessington for a month, and then on Charing Cross/Cannon Street services to Bromley North, Sevenoaks via Orpington, and to Dartford via Bexleyheath and Sidcup.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To free; to release from restraint."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "free",
          "free"
        ],
        [
          "release",
          "release"
        ],
        [
          "restraint",
          "restraint"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To free; to release from restraint."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1901, Harold MacGrath, chapter 17, in The Puppet Crown",
          "text": "He set his teeth, and let loose with a fury before which nothing could stand; and Maurice was forced back step by step until he was almost up with the wall.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1965 November 12, “Jazz: The Newest Sound”, in Time",
          "text": "Thus encouraged, the Tijuana Brass let loose with its patented version of The Lonely Bull.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 December 27, “Report: Jack Black recalls 'lost weekend'”, in USA Today, retrieved 2011-07-22",
          "text": "As if a giant ape weren't enough to get Jack Black going in King Kong, the actor says he let loose one time while making the film.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To shout, make a loud sound, or perform a sudden, vehement action; to behave in a raucous, frenzied manner."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "with",
          "with#English"
        ],
        [
          "on",
          "on#English"
        ],
        [
          "shout",
          "shout"
        ],
        [
          "loud",
          "loud"
        ],
        [
          "vehement",
          "vehement"
        ],
        [
          "raucous",
          "raucous"
        ],
        [
          "frenzied",
          "frenzied"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic, sometimes followed by with or on) To shout, make a loud sound, or perform a sudden, vehement action; to behave in a raucous, frenzied manner."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "followed by with or on"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive",
        "sometimes"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English euphemisms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Sorry for letting loose.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To break wind."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "break wind",
          "break wind"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(euphemistic) To break wind."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-let loose.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f0/En-au-let_loose.ogg/En-au-let_loose.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/En-au-let_loose.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
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      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "transitive: free, release",
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ],
      "word": "loose"
    },
    {
      "word": "unleash"
    },
    {
      "word": "set loose"
    },
    {
      "sense": "intransitive: make a loud sound, behave in a frenzied manner",
      "word": "explode"
    },
    {
      "word": "go ape"
    },
    {
      "word": "holler"
    },
    {
      "word": "vociferate"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "放開"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "fàngkāi",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "放开"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "päästää irti"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "irrottaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "vapauttaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "lâcher"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "loslassen"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "szabadjára ereszt"
    },
    {
      "alt": "きりはなす",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "kirihanasu",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "切り放す"
    },
    {
      "alt": "はなす",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "hanasu",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "放す"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "vypuskátʹ",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "выпуска́ть"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "výpustitʹ",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "вы́пустить"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "otpuskátʹ",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "отпуска́ть"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "otpustítʹ",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "отпусти́ть"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "leig mu sgaoil"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "soltar"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "släppa lös"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "släppa"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "salmak"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "release from restraint",
      "word": "serbest bırakmak"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "perform a sudden, vehement action",
      "word": "se déchaîner"
    }
  ],
  "word": "let loose"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.