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.
Under-30s have described missing out on being able to "let loose and mess around" because of a "bleak" lack of nightlife where they live.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
“I really miss stand-up when I’m not doing it because I can really let loose on stage and say all the words I want,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The company was beset by problems, most of them linked to Jobs’s perfectionism—which, let loose in a company that he now owned and controlled, was in danger of driving the entire enterprise into the ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
A smile, a laugh - little hints that he wanted to let loose a bit.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
But for Kenzi and Simeon, this was where they could let loose.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
