Free vs. Loose

Freeadjective

(social) Unconstrained.

‘He was given free rein to do whatever he wanted.’;

Looseverb

(transitive) To let loose, to free from restraints.

Freeadjective

Not imprisoned or enslaved.

‘a free man’;

Looseverb

(transitive) To unfasten, to loosen.

Freeadjective

Unconstrained by timidity or distrust

Looseverb

(transitive) To make less tight, to loosen.

Freeadjective

Generous; liberal.

‘He's very free with his money.’;

Looseverb

(intransitive) Of a grip or hold, to let go.

Freeadjective

(obsolete) Clear of offence or crime; guiltless; innocent.

Looseverb

(archery) to shoot (an arrow)

Freeadjective

Without obligations.

‘free time’;

Looseverb

(obsolete) To set sail.

Freeadjective

Thrown open, or made accessible, to all; to be enjoyed without limitations; unrestricted; not obstructed, engrossed, or appropriated; open; said of a thing to be possessed or enjoyed.

‘a free school’;

Looseverb

(obsolete) To solve; to interpret.

Freeadjective

Not arbitrary or despotic; assuring liberty; defending individual rights against encroachment by any person or class; instituted by a free people; said of a government, institutions, etc.

‘This is a free country.’;

Looseadjective

Not fixed in place tightly or firmly.

‘This wheelbarrow has a loose wheel.’;

Freeadjective

(software) With no or only freedom-preserving limitations on distribution or modification.

‘OpenOffice is free software.’;

Looseadjective

Not held or packaged together.

‘You can buy apples in a pack, but they are cheaper loose.’;

Freeadjective

(software) Intended for release, as opposed to a checked version.

Looseadjective

Not under control.

‘The dog is loose again.’;

Freeadjective

Obtainable without any payment.

‘The government provides free health care.’;

Looseadjective

Not fitting closely

‘I wear loose clothes when it is hot.’;

Freeadjective

complimentary

‘Buy a TV to get a free DVD player!’;

Looseadjective

Not compact.

‘It is difficult walking on loose gravel.’; ‘a cloth of loose texture’;

Freeadjective

(abstract) Unconstrained.

Looseadjective

Relaxed.

‘She danced with a loose flowing movement.’;

Freeadjective

(mathematics) Unconstrained by relators.

‘the free group on three generators’;

Looseadjective

Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate.

‘a loose way of reasoning’;

Freeadjective

Unconstrained by quantifiers.

‘$z$ is the free variable in $\backslash forall\; x\backslash exists\; y:xy=z$.’;

Looseadjective

Indiscreet.

‘Loose talk costs lives.’;

Freeadjective

(programming) Unconstrained of identifiers, not bound.

Looseadjective

(dated) Free from moral restraint; immoral, unchaste.

Freeadjective

(linguistics) of a morpheme That can be used by itself, unattached to another morpheme.

Looseadjective

Not being in the possession of any competing team during a game.

‘He caught an elbow going after a loose ball.’; ‘The puck was momentarily loose right in front of the net.’;

Freeadjective

(physical) Unconstrained.

Looseadjective

(dated) Not costive; having lax bowels.

Freeadjective

Unobstructed, without blockages.

‘the drain was free’;

Loosenoun

(archery) The release of an arrow.

Freeadjective

Unattached or uncombined.

‘a free radical’;

Loosenoun

(obsolete) A state of laxity or indulgence; unrestrained freedom, abandonment.

Freeadjective

Not currently in use; not taken; unoccupied.

‘You can sit on this chair; it's free.’;

Loosenoun

(rugby) All play other than set pieces (scrums and line-outs).

Freeadjective

Not attached; loose.

‘In this group of mushrooms, the gills are free.’;

Loosenoun

Freedom from restraint.

Freeadjective

Without; not containing (what is specified); exempt; clear; liberated.

‘We had a wholesome, filling meal, free of meat.’; ‘I would like to live free from care in the mountains.’;

Loosenoun

A letting go; discharge.

Freeadjective

(dated) Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited.

‘a free horse’;

Looseinterjection

(archery) begin shooting; release your arrows

Freeadjective

(dated) Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; followed by of.

Looseadjective

Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.

‘Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat.’;

Freeadjective

Certain or honourable; the opposite of base.

‘free service;’; ‘free socage’;

Looseadjective

Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc.; - with from or of.

‘Now I standLoose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ?’;

Freeadjective

(legal) Privileged or individual; the opposite of common.

‘a free fishery;’; ‘a free warren’;

Looseadjective

Not tight or close; as, a loose garment.

Freeadverb

Without needing to pay.

‘I got this bike free.’;

Looseadjective

Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of loose texture.

‘With horse and chariots ranked in loose array.’;

Freeadverb

(obsolete) Freely; willingly.

Looseadjective

Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose style, or way of reasoning.

‘The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation.’;

Freeverb

(transitive) To make free; set at liberty; release.

Looseadjective

Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right.

‘The loose morality which he had learned.’;

Freeverb

(transitive) To rid of something that confines or oppresses.

Looseadjective

Unconnected; rambling.

‘Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages.’;

Freenoun

abbreviation of free kick

Looseadjective

Lax; not costive; having lax bowels.

Freenoun

free transfer

Looseadjective

Dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.

‘Loose ladies in delight.’;

Freenoun

(hurling) The usual means of restarting play after a foul is committed, where the non-offending team restarts from where the foul was committed.

Looseadjective

Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, a loose epistle.

Freeadjective

Exempt from subjection to the will of others; not under restraint, control, or compulsion; able to follow one's own impulses, desires, or inclinations; determining one's own course of action; not dependent; at liberty.

‘That which has the power, or not the power, to operate, is that alone which is or is not free.’;

Loosenoun

Freedom from restraint.

Freeadjective

Not under an arbitrary or despotic government; subject only to fixed laws regularly and fairly administered, and defended by them from encroachments upon natural or acquired rights; enjoying political liberty.

Loosenoun

A letting go; discharge.

‘Vent all its griefs, and give a loose to sorrow.’;

Freeadjective

Liberated, by arriving at a certain age, from the control of parents, guardian, or master.

Loose

To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove the shackles or fastenings of; to set free; to relieve.

‘Canst thou . . . loose the bands of Orion ?’; ‘Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them unto me.’;

Freeadjective

Not confined or imprisoned; released from arrest; liberated; at liberty to go.

‘Set an unhappy prisoner free.’;

Loose

To release from anything obligatory or burdensome; to disengage; hence, to absolve; to remit.

‘Art thou loosed from a wife ? seek not a wife.’; ‘Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’;

Freeadjective

Not subjected to the laws of physical necessity; capable of voluntary activity; endowed with moral liberty; - said of the will.

‘Not free, what proof could they have given sincereOf true allegiance, constant faith, or love.’;

Loose

To relax; to loosen; to make less strict.

‘The joints of his loins were loosed.’;

Freeadjective

Clear of offense or crime; guiltless; innocent.

‘My hands are guilty, but my heart is free.’;

Loose

To solve; to interpret.

Freeadjective

Unconstrained by timidity or distrust; unreserved; ingenuous; frank; familiar; communicative.

‘He was free only with a few.’;

Looseverb

To set sail.

Freeadjective

Unrestrained; immoderate; lavish; licentious; - used in a bad sense.

‘The critics have been very free in their censures.’; ‘A man may live a free life as to wine or women.’;

Looseverb

grant freedom to; free from confinement

Freeadjective

Not close or parsimonious; liberal; open-handed; lavish; as, free with his money.

Looseverb

turn loose or free from restraint;

‘let loose mines’; ‘Loose terrible plagues upon humanity’;

Freeadjective

Exempt; clear; released; liberated; not encumbered or troubled with; as, free from pain; free from a burden; - followed by from, or, rarely, by of.

‘Princes declaring themselves free from the obligations of their treaties.’;

Looseverb

make loose or looser;

‘loosen the tension on a rope’;

Freeadjective

Characteristic of one acting without restraint; charming; easy.

Looseverb

become loose or looser or less tight;

‘The noose loosened’; ‘the rope relaxed’;

Freeadjective

Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited; as, a free horse.

Looseadjective

not restrained or confined or attached;

‘a pocket full of loose bills’; ‘knocked the ball loose’; ‘got loose from his attacker’;

Freeadjective

Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; - followed by of.

‘He therefore makes all birds, of every sect,Free of his farm.’;

Looseadjective

not compact or dense in structure or arrangement;

‘loose gravel’;

Freeadjective

Thrown open, or made accessible, to all; to be enjoyed without limitations; unrestricted; not obstructed, engrossed, or appropriated; open; - said of a thing to be possessed or enjoyed; as, a free school.

‘Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as freeFor me as for you?’;

Looseadjective

(of a ball in sport) not in the possession or control of any player;

‘a loose ball’;

Freeadjective

Not gained by importunity or purchase; gratuitous; spontaneous; as, free admission; a free gift.

Looseadjective

not tight; not closely constrained or constricted or constricting;

‘loose clothing’; ‘the large shoes were very loose’;

Freeadjective

Not arbitrary or despotic; assuring liberty; defending individual rights against encroachment by any person or class; instituted by a free people; - said of a government, institutions, etc.

Looseadjective

not officially recognized or controlled;

‘an informal agreement’; ‘a loose organization of the local farmers’;

Freeadjective

Certain or honorable; the opposite of base; as, free service; free socage.

Looseadjective

not literal;

‘a loose interpretation of what she had been told’; ‘a free translation of the poem’;

Freeadjective

Privileged or individual; the opposite of common; as, a free fishery; a free warren.

Looseadjective

emptying easily or excessively;

‘loose bowels’;

Freeadjective

Not united or combined with anything else; separated; dissevered; unattached; at liberty to escape; as, free carbonic acid gas; free cells.

Looseadjective

not affixed;

‘the stamp came loose’;

Freeadverb

Freely; willingly.

‘I as free forgive youAs I would be forgiven.’;

Looseadjective

not tense or taut;

‘the old man's skin hung loose and gray’; ‘slack and wrinkled skin’; ‘slack sails’; ‘a slack rope’;

Freeadverb

Without charge; as, children admitted free.

Looseadjective

(of textures) full of small openings or gaps;

‘an open texture’; ‘a loose weave’;

Freeverb

To make free; to set at liberty; to rid of that which confines, limits, embarrasses, oppresses, etc.; to release; to disengage; to clear; - followed by from, and sometimes by off; as, to free a captive or a slave; to be freed of these inconveniences.

‘Our land is from the rage of tigers freed.’; ‘Arise, . . . free thy people from their yoke.’;

Looseadjective

not fixed firmly or tightly;

‘the bolts became loose over time’; ‘a loose chair leg’; ‘loose bricks’;

Freeverb

To remove, as something that confines or bars; to relieve from the constraint of.

‘This master keyFrees every lock, and leads us to his person.’;

Looseadjective

lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility;

‘idle talk’; ‘a loose tongue’;

Freeverb

To frank.

Looseadjective

not carefully arranged in a package;

‘a box of loose nails’;

Freenoun

people who are free;

‘the home of the free and the brave’;

Looseadjective

freely producing mucus;

‘a loose phlegmy cough’;

Freeverb

grant freedom to; free from confinement

Looseadjective

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’;

Freeverb

relieve from;

‘Rid the the house of pests’;

Looseadjective

casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior;

‘her easy virtue’; ‘he was told to avoid loose (or light) women’; ‘wanton behavior’;

Freeverb

remove or force out from a position;

‘The dentist dislodged the piece of food that had been stuck under my gums’; ‘He finally could free the legs of the earthquake victim who was buried in the rubble’;

Looseadjective

not bound or fastened or gathered together;

‘loose pages’; ‘loose papers’;

Freeverb

grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to;

‘She exempted me from the exam’;

Looseadverb

without restraint;

‘cows in India are running loose’;

Freeverb

make (information) available publication;

‘release the list with the names of the prisoners’;

Looseadjective

not firmly or tightly fixed in place; detached or able to be detached

‘the lorry's trailer came loose’; ‘a loose tooth’;

Freeverb

free from obligations or duties

Looseadjective

not held or tied together or contained within something

‘pockets bulging with loose change’; ‘wear your hair loose’;

Freeverb

free or remove obstruction from;

‘free a path across the cluttered floor’;

Looseadjective

(of a person or animal) not tied up or shut in

‘the tethered horses broke loose’; ‘the bull was loose with cattle in the field’;

Freeverb

let off the hook;

‘I absolve you from this responsibility’;

Looseadjective

(of faeces) containing excessive liquid

‘loose bowel movements’;

Freeverb

part with a possession or right;

‘I am relinquishing my bedroom to the long-term house guest’; ‘resign a claim to the throne’;

Looseadjective

(of the ball or puck in a game) in play but not in any player's possession.

Freeverb

make (assets) available;

‘release the holdings in the dictator's bank account’;

Looseadjective

(of a garment) not fitting tightly or closely

‘she slipped into a loose T-shirt’;

Freeadjective

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’;

Looseadjective

not close, compact, or solid in structure or formation

‘loose soil’; ‘the fabric's loose weave’;

Freeadjective

unconstrained or not chemically bound in a molecule or not fixed and capable of relatively unrestricted motion;

‘free expansion’; ‘free oxygen’; ‘a free electron’;

Looseadjective

not rigidly organized

‘a loose federation of political groups’;

Freeadjective

costing nothing;

‘complimentary tickets’;

Looseadjective

relaxed; physically slack

‘she swung into her easy, loose stride’;

Freeadjective

not occupied or in use;

‘a free locker’; ‘a free lane’;

Looseadjective

(of play, especially in rugby) with the players not close together.

Freeadjective

not fixed in position;

‘the detached shutter fell on him’; ‘he pulled his arm free and ran’;

Looseadjective

not strict or exact

‘a loose interpretation’;

Freeadjective

not held in servitude;

‘after the Civil War he was a free man’;

Looseadjective

careless and indiscreet in what is said

‘there is too much loose talk about the situation’;

Freeadjective

not taken up by scheduled activities;

‘a free hour between classes’; ‘spare time on my hands’;

Looseadjective

(of play in cricket) inaccurate or careless

‘Lucas punished some loose bowling severely’;

Freeadjective

not literal;

‘a loose interpretation of what she had been told’; ‘a free translation of the poem’;

Looseadjective

engaging in casual sexual encounters or relationships

‘she ran the risk of being called a loose woman’;

Freeadverb

without restraint;

‘cows in India are running loose’;

Loosenoun

loose play

‘he was in powerful form in the loose’;

Freeadjective

able to act or be done as one wishes; not under the control of another

‘I have no ambitions other than to have a happy life and be free’; ‘a free choice’;

Looseverb

set free; release

‘the hounds have been loosed’;

Freeadjective

able or permitted to take a specified action

‘you are free to leave’;

Looseverb

make (something) loose; untie or undo

‘the ropes were loosed’;

Freeadjective

(of a state or its citizens or institutions) subject neither to foreign domination nor to despotic government

‘a free press’;

Looseverb

relax (one's grip)

‘he loosed his grip suddenly’;

Freeadjective

not a slave

‘the poor among the free men joined the slaves against the rich’;

Looseverb

fire (a bullet, arrow, etc.)

‘he loosed off a shot at the vehicle’;

Freeadjective

denoting an ethnic or political group actively opposing an occupying or invading force, in particular the groups that continued resisting the Germans in the Second World War after the fall of their countries

‘the Free Dutch, Free Polish, and Free Norwegian fleets’;

Freeadjective

not or no longer confined or imprisoned

‘police were forced to let him walk free’; ‘the researchers set the birds free’;

Freeadjective

not physically obstructed or fixed

‘he tried to kick his legs free’; ‘she smiled, leaned back, and waved a free arm in the air’;

Freeadjective

(of power or energy) disengaged or available.

Freeadjective

not bound in an atom, a molecule, or a compound

‘the atmosphere of that time contained virtually no free oxygen’;

Freeadjective

denoting a linguistic form that can be used in isolation.

Freeadjective

not subject to engagements or obligations

‘she spent her free time shopping’;

Freeadjective

(of a facility or piece of equipment) not occupied or in use

‘the bathroom was free’;

Freeadjective

not subject to or affected by (something undesirable)

‘our salsas are free of preservatives’;

Freeadjective

given or available without charge

‘free health care’;

Freeadjective

using or expending something without restraint; lavish

‘she was always free with her money’;

Freeadjective

frank or unrestrained in speech, expression, or action

‘he was free in his talk of revolution’;

Freeadjective

overfamiliar or forward.

Freeadjective

(of literature or music) not observing the normal conventions of style or form.

Freeadjective

(of a translation) conveying only the broad sense; not literal.

Freeadjective

(of the wind) blowing from a favourable direction to the side or aft of a vessel.

Freeadverb

without cost or payment

‘ladies were admitted free’;

Freeadverb

with the sheets eased

‘I kept her off the wind and sailing free until I had all square forward’;

Freeverb

release from confinement or slavery

‘they were freed from jail’;

Freeverb

release from physical obstruction or restraint

‘she struggled to free herself from the tenacious mud’; ‘I had to tug hard and at last freed him’;

Freeverb

remove something undesirable or restrictive from

‘his inheritance freed him from financial constraints’; ‘free your body of excess tension’;

Freeverb

make available for a particular purpose

‘we are freeing management time for alternative work’;