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
Who has your Premiership club brought in & let go this summer?
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
What I learned from this record is to let go and just be completely open — to get out of the way and feel my way through it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
The 51-year-old company has engaged in a series of job cuts since the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, first announcing its plans to let go 10,000 employees in January 2023.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
“Then let go of all the other stuff.”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
