Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

let go

Idioms  

  1. Allow to escape, set free, as in The police decided to let him go . [c. 1300]

  2. Also, let go of . Release one's hold on, as in Please let go of my sleeve , or Once he starts on this subject, he never lets go . [Early 1400s]

  3. let it go . Allow it to stand or be accepted. For example, Let it go; we needn't discuss it further . This usage is sometimes amplified to let it go at that , meaning “allow matters to stand as they are.” [Late 1800s]

  4. Cease to employ, dismiss, as in They had to let 20 workers go .

  5. Also, let oneself go . Behave without restraint, abandon one's inhibitions; also, neglect one's personal hygiene and appearance. For example, When the music began, Jean let herself go and started a wild dance , or After her husband's death she let herself go, forgetting to bathe and staying in her nightgown all day . The first sense dates from the late 1800s, the second from the early 1900s.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Let go of the grief and resentment and longing that you had for your father, for now at least, and get the job done.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 4, 2026

Let go when there are endless questions and no answers?

From New York Times • Apr. 11, 2023

Let go by the Jets in 2017, Smith played sparingly during stints with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers before latching on with Seattle in 2019 to serve as Wilson’s backup.

From Washington Post • Oct. 14, 2022

Let go of the idea that things could have happened differently, as if this life is a Choose Your Own Adventure book and you simply turned to the wrong page.

From Slate • Oct. 6, 2020

“Seriously, why do you care so much? Let go of me.”

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.