let loose
Americanidiom
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let loose,
past, past participle
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letting loose
present participle
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to set free; release;
They let the captured mouse loose in a field.
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to allow to act freely (often followed byon ).
I have my medical students practice putting IVs in me before I let them loose on patients.
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to act in a relaxed or uninhibited way.
It took some time to talk my dad into letting loose and playing a few games with the grandkids.
I can be serious when I need to be, but sometimes I just need to let loose and have fun.
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to utter or issue forcefully and suddenly (sometimes followed bywith ).
I let loose a shriek and made a dive for the door.
He let loose with a flurry of angry posts on the website.
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to give way; yield.
The guardrail let loose and we very nearly plunged over the edge.
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.
After an ad for Jake Paul’s gambling app Betr put “Entourage” stars Adrian Grenier and Jeremy Piven together again, creator Doug Ellin let loose, Variety reports:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
When they’re let loose, they enter Canyon View Ranch with the abandon of children running down Main Street, U.S.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Inevitably, this OpenAI hack has further fuelled fears of what could happen if AI agents are let loose.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
They let loose in the evenings by exploring the city, rock climbing or playing poker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
When the clouds eased up and let loose of the moon’s light, I could see the cap’n plain and clear.
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.
