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.
In less than four seconds—according to butterflies let loose in my stomach—the Bentley swept past 60 mph, casually acquiring a kinetic energy of nearly one megajoule, roughly equivalent to a stick of dynamite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
A smile, a laugh - little hints that he wanted to let loose a bit.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
As Floyd, David Harbour gets to show off his dance moves in the series: “It was fun to just let loose, with a fat prosthetic belly, and have a good time and dance.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
Joining the party were white-collar workers looking to let loose on summer weekends, including Michael Guggenheim, a now 33-year-old corporate lawyer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Suddenly there was a clang, and a pack of hyenas was let loose from one of the side gates.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
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.
