Meaning

(transitive) To make loose..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To make loose.
2. (intransitive) To become loose.
3. (transitive) To disengage (a device that restrains).
4. (intransitive) To become unfastened or undone.
5. (transitive) To free from restraint; to set at liberty.
6. (transitive) To relieve (the bowels) from constipation; to promote defecation.
7. (transitive, obsolete) To create a breach or rift between (two parties).
8. (intransitive, obsolete) To sail away (from the shore).

Example Sentences

to loosen a knot; to loosen one's grip / hold on something

After the Thanksgiving meal, Bill loosened his belt.

1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: or A Naturall Historie, London: William Lee, Century 5, p. 111, […] after a yeares Rooting, then Shaking doth the Tree good, by Loosening of the Earth […]

In order to deal with deposits of soot on boiler-tubes while running, especially if poor coal is in use, locomotives are often now provided with blowers on the firebox back-plate which can be made to discharge a jet of high pressure steam towards the firebox tubeplates; this has the effect of loosening and blowing off the soot deposits.

[...] and on the Saturday heavy seas pounded the W.R. on its exposed coastal stretch between Dawlish and Teignmouth, loosening the ballast and forcing trains to proceed with extreme caution.

His days at the villa had loosened his body and freed his tenseness […]

I noticed that my seatbelt had gradually loosened during the journey.

The subtile shower the earth hath softned so, And with the waues, the trees tost to and fro; That the rootes loosen, and the tops downe sway, So that whole Forrests quickly swimme away.

Word Forms

• loosens
• loosening
• loosened

Synonyms for loosen

Antonyms for loosen

Related Words

When Should You Use Loosen?

Use loosen when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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