The Collaborative International Dictionary
Loose \Loose\ (l[=oo]s), a. [Compar. Looser (l[=oo]s"[~e]r); superl. Loosest.] [OE. loos, lous, laus, Icel. lauss; akin to OD. loos, D. los, AS. le['a]s false, deceitful, G. los, loose, Dan. & Sw. l["o]s, Goth. laus, and E. lose. [root]127. See Lose, and cf. Leasing falsehood.]
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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.
--Shak. -
Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc.; -- with from or of.
Now I stand Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ?
--Addison. Not tight or close; as, a loose garment.
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Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of loose texture.
With horse and chariots ranked in loose array.
--Milton. -
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.
--Whewel. -
Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right.
The loose morality which he had learned.
--Sir W. Scott. -
Unconnected; rambling.
Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages.
--I. Watts. Lax; not costive; having lax bowels.
--Locke.-
Dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.
Loose ladies in delight.
--Spenser. -
Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, a loose epistle.
--Dryden.At loose ends, not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed.
Fast and loose. See under Fast.
To break loose. See under Break.
Loose pulley. (Mach.) See Fast and loose pulleys, under Fast.
To let loose, to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty.
Wiktionary
prep.phr. 1 (context US Canada English) Without any activity or purpose. 2 (context idiomatic English) In an uncertain position or situation. 3 Not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed.
Usage examples of "at loose ends".
Finding himself at loose ends, the Norwegian had kept himself busy inventorying the “.
Now that the treaty is signed and we are friendly with Spain, these fellows are at loose ends, and have crossed the Atlantic to seek a home port for American piracy.
Perhaps I shouldn't bother her, Ayla thought, but she had been feeling at loose ends and wanted something meaningful to do.
There was no longer a need to keep moving, but the absence of worry left him at loose ends.
A gang of Negro boys at loose ends went by in the street, hooting and whistling purposelessly.
In the dining room Hawksquill came upon Smoky, loitering in the corner, seeming lost in his own house and at loose ends.