"on the loose" meaning in English

See on the loose in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: En-au-on the loose.ogg
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} on the loose, {{en-PP}} on the loose
  1. (idiomatic) Not incarcerated or in captivity; not under control. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: on the run, on the lam Translations (not in captivity): karkuteillä (Finnish), vapaalla jalalla (Finnish), irrallaan (note: not in captivity) (Finnish), valloillaan (note: not under control) (Finnish), sich frei bewegend (German), frei herumlaufend (German), frei umherziehend (German), εκτός ελέγχου (ektós elénchou) (Greek), szabadlábon (Hungarian), szökésben (Hungarian), szabadon (Hungarian), på frifot (Norwegian Bokmål), på frifot (Norwegian Nynorsk), na wolności (Polish), à solta (Portuguese), на во́ле (na vóle) (Russian), mu sgaoil (Scottish Gaelic), suelto [masculine] (Spanish), libre [feminine, masculine] (Spanish), liberado [masculine] (Spanish), på fri fot (Swedish), lös (Swedish), firari (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-on_the_loose-en-prep_phrase-PsLxL-X9 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Turkish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 27 35 38 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 47 24 29 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 30 33 37 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 32 33 36 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 42 27 30 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 47 25 28 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 42 27 32 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 43 27 30 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 42 27 31 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations: 43 28 30 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 41 27 32 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 42 29 29 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 46 26 29 Disambiguation of Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations: 44 27 30 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 41 28 31 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 47 25 28 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 44 27 30 Disambiguation of 'not in captivity': 91 8 1
  2. (slang, archaic) Out on a spree, or in search of adventure. Tags: archaic, slang
    Sense id: en-on_the_loose-en-prep_phrase-zvXCDRPZ Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 27 35 38 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 30 33 37 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 32 33 36
  3. (slang, archaic) Earning a living by prostitution. Tags: archaic, slang Categories (topical): Prostitution
    Sense id: en-on_the_loose-en-prep_phrase-lo0-Tlwm Disambiguation of Prostitution: 16 18 66 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 27 35 38 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 30 33 37 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 32 33 36
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "on the loose",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "on the loose",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "27 35 38",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 24 29",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 33 37",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 33 36",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 27 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 25 28",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 27 32",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "43 27 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 27 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "43 28 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "41 27 32",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 29 29",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "46 26 29",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "44 27 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "41 28 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 25 28",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "44 27 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "There were reports of a giraffe that escaped from the zoo, on the loose in New York.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Not incarcerated or in captivity; not under control."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_the_loose-en-prep_phrase-PsLxL-X9",
      "links": [
        [
          "incarcerated",
          "incarcerated"
        ],
        [
          "captivity",
          "captivity"
        ],
        [
          "control",
          "control"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Not incarcerated or in captivity; not under control."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "67 29 4",
          "word": "on the run"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "67 29 4",
          "word": "on the lam"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "karkuteillä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "vapaalla jalalla"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "note": "not in captivity",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "irrallaan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "note": "not under control",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "valloillaan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "sich frei bewegend"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "frei herumlaufend"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "frei umherziehend"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ektós elénchou",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "εκτός ελέγχου"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "szabadlábon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "szökésben"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "szabadon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "på frifot"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "på frifot"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "na wolności"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "à solta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "na vóle",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "на во́ле"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "mu sgaoil"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "suelto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "libre"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "liberado"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "på fri fot"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "lös"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "91 8 1",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "not in captivity",
          "word": "firari"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "27 35 38",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 33 37",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 33 36",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Out on a spree, or in search of adventure."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_the_loose-en-prep_phrase-zvXCDRPZ",
      "links": [
        [
          "spree",
          "spree"
        ],
        [
          "adventure",
          "adventure"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, archaic) Out on a spree, or in search of adventure."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "27 35 38",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 33 37",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 33 36",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 18 66",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Prostitution",
          "orig": "en:Prostitution",
          "parents": [
            "Sexuality",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Sex",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Reproduction",
            "Fundamental",
            "Life",
            "Nature"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1868, The Indian Medical Gazette, volume 3, page 21:",
          "text": "Many doctors practising in large cities dwell on the difficulty of checking clandestine prostitution, which is unfortunately on the increase in all crowded centres, where numbers of women are on the loose, over whom the police have little or no hold.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Earning a living by prostitution."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_the_loose-en-prep_phrase-lo0-Tlwm",
      "links": [
        [
          "prostitution",
          "prostitution"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, archaic) Earning a living by prostitution."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-on the loose.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cc/En-au-on_the_loose.ogg/En-au-on_the_loose.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/En-au-on_the_loose.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on the loose"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Requests for review of Russian translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations",
    "en:Prostitution"
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "on the loose",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "on the loose",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "There were reports of a giraffe that escaped from the zoo, on the loose in New York.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Not incarcerated or in captivity; not under control."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "incarcerated",
          "incarcerated"
        ],
        [
          "captivity",
          "captivity"
        ],
        [
          "control",
          "control"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Not incarcerated or in captivity; not under control."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "English terms with archaic senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Out on a spree, or in search of adventure."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "spree",
          "spree"
        ],
        [
          "adventure",
          "adventure"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, archaic) Out on a spree, or in search of adventure."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "English terms with archaic senses",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1868, The Indian Medical Gazette, volume 3, page 21:",
          "text": "Many doctors practising in large cities dwell on the difficulty of checking clandestine prostitution, which is unfortunately on the increase in all crowded centres, where numbers of women are on the loose, over whom the police have little or no hold.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Earning a living by prostitution."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "prostitution",
          "prostitution"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, archaic) Earning a living by prostitution."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-on the loose.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cc/En-au-on_the_loose.ogg/En-au-on_the_loose.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/En-au-on_the_loose.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "on the run"
    },
    {
      "word": "on the lam"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "karkuteillä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "vapaalla jalalla"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "note": "not in captivity",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "irrallaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "note": "not under control",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "valloillaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "sich frei bewegend"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "frei herumlaufend"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "frei umherziehend"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ektós elénchou",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "εκτός ελέγχου"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "szabadlábon"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "szökésben"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "szabadon"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "på frifot"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "på frifot"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "na wolności"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "à solta"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "na vóle",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "на во́ле"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "mu sgaoil"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "suelto"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "libre"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "liberado"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "på fri fot"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "lös"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "not in captivity",
      "word": "firari"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on the loose"
}

Download raw JSONL data for on the loose meaning in English (4.9kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). 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.