let go
Idioms-
Allow to escape, set free, as in The police decided to let him go . [c. 1300]
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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]
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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]
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Cease to employ, dismiss, as in They had to let 20 workers go .
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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.
Correspondent Cecilia Vega was let go as part of Weiss’s overhaul in May, which also included ousting executive producer Tanya Simon and bringing in Bilton to run the program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
After waiting so long for a child, David and Ally are not about to let go of Marcus that easily.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
What happens when you let go, he asks?
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
When Tracy was let go at the end of the season, the team called it a “mutual parting of ways.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The sound of the footsteps got louder and Elliot let go of my arm so he could duck behind one of the large statues in the fountain.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
