loop

¹ American  

[loop] / lup /

noun

1. a portion of a cord, ribbon, etc., folded or doubled upon itself so as to leave an opening between the parts.

2. anything shaped more or less like a closed curve, as a line drawn on paper, a part of a letter or other symbol, a part of a path, or a line of motion.

3. a curved piece or a ring of metal, wood, or the like, used for the insertion of something, as a handle, etc.

4. intrauterine device.

5. Aeronautics. a maneuver executed by an airplane in such a manner that the airplane describes a closed curve in a vertical plane.

6. a circular area at the end of a trolley line, railroad line, etc., where cars turn around.

7. an arm of a cloverleaf where traffic may turn off or onto a main road or highway.

8. Physics. the part of a vibrating string, column of air or other medium, etc., between two adjacent nodes.

9. Electricity. a closed electric or magnetic circuit.

10. Computers. the reiteration of a set of instructions in a routine or program.

11. a wire, usually of platinum, one end of which is curved to form a loop, used for transferring microorganisms from one medium to another.

12. a sandbar that encloses or nearly encloses a body of water.

13. Figure Skating. a school figure in which a skater traces a large half circle, a small oval within its arc, and another large half circle to complete the figure while remaining on the same skating edge.

14. the Loop, the main business district of Chicago.

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verb (used with object)

loops, present (3rd person singular) looped, past participle, past looping present participle

1. to form into a loop.

   The first step is to loop the rope into a circle about the size of a dinner plate.

2. to make a loop in.

   Sometimes the hose gets looped in such a way as to inadvertently make a knot.

3. to enfold or encircle in or with something arranged in a loop.

   I’m always looping my finger in with the yarn when I’m winding it into a ball.

4. to fasten by forming into a loop, or by means of something formed into a loop (often followed byup ).

   to loop up the new draperies.

5. to cause (a missile or projectile) to trace a looping or looplike trajectory through the air.

   to loop a grenade into the building.

6. to fly (an airplane) in a loop or series of loops.

7. to connect (conductors) in the shape of a loop within a closed electric or magnetic circuit.

8. Movies. to complete by recording dialogue, sound effects, etc., onto an existing film track or soundtrack.

   We still have to loop the final scenes.

verb (used without object)

loops, present (3rd person singular) looped, past participle, past looping present participle

1. to make or form a loop.

   The river loops around the two counties.

2. to move by forming loops, as an inchworm does.

   The little green caterpillar looping along the leaf’s edge is the larva of a geometrid moth.

3. to trace a looping or looplike path through the air.

   The fly ball looped high in the air.

4. to perform a loop or series of loops in an airplane.

5. Movies. to record dialogue, sound effects, etc., onto an existing film track or soundtrack.

idioms

1. in the loop, among those who receive the latest information about something.

   If it’s anything pertaining to his test results, please keep me in the loop.

2. out of the loop, excluded from those who receive the latest information about something.

   She’s often out of the loop on policy decisions.

3. throw / knock for a loop, to astonish or upset.

   Her quitting the project really threw me for a loop.

loop ² American  

[loop] / lup /

noun

Archaic.

1. a small or narrow opening, as in a wall; loophole.

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loop ³ American  

[loop] / lup /

noun

Metalworking.

1. a hot bloom of pasty consistency, to be worked under a hammer or in rolls.

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loop ¹ British  

/ luːp /

noun

1. the round or oval shape formed by a line, string, etc, that curves around to cross itself

2. any round or oval-shaped thing that is closed or nearly closed

3. a piece of material, such as string, curved round and fastened to form a ring or handle for carrying by

4. an intrauterine contraceptive device in the shape of a loop

5. electronics

   1. a closed electric or magnetic circuit through which a signal can circulate

   2. short for loop aerial

6. a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft flies one complete circle in the vertical plane

7. Also called: loop line.  a railway branch line which leaves the main line and rejoins it after a short distance

8. maths physics a closed curve on a graph

   hysteresis loop

9. another name for antinode

10. anatomy

    1. the most common basic pattern of the human fingerprint, formed by several sharply rising U-shaped ridges Compare arch 1 whorl

    2. a bend in a tubular structure, such as the U-shaped curve in a kidney tubule ( Henle's loop or loop of Henle )

11. computing a series of instructions in a program, performed repeatedly until some specified condition is satisfied

12. skating a jump in which the skater takes off from a back outside edge, makes one, two, or three turns in the air, and lands on the same back outside edge

13. a group of people to whom information is circulated (esp in the phrases in or out of the loop )

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verb

1. (tr) to make a loop in or of (a line, string, etc)

2. (tr) to fasten or encircle with a loop or something like a loop

3. Also: loop the loop.  to cause (an aircraft) to perform a loop or (of an aircraft) to perform a loop

4. (intr) to move in loops or in a path like a loop

loop ² British  

/ luːp /

noun

1. an archaic word for loophole

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loop More Idioms  

1. see in the loop; knock for a loop.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• looping
  present
• looped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• loop
  simple
• loops
  simple
• have looped
  perfect
• has looped
  perfect
• am looping
  progressive
• are looping
  progressive
• is looping
  progressive
• have been looping
  perfect progressive
• has been looping
  perfect progressive

Past

• looped
  simple
• had looped
  perfect
• was looping
  progressive
• were looping
  progressive
• had been looping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will loop
  simple
• will have looped
  perfect
• will be looping
  progressive
• will have been looping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of loop¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English loupe “loop of cloth,” of uncertain origin; probably from Middle Irish, Old Irish lúb “bend, fold, loop”; perhaps akin to leap ( def. )

Origin of loop²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English loupe, loup “loophole”; compare Middle Dutch lūpen “lie in wait, peep, peer”

Origin of loop³

First recorded in 1665–75; from French loupe, special use of loupe “wen, knob, gnarl,” ultimately from Germanic; see loupe

Explanation

A loop is a roundish, coiled shape, like the shape a piece of string or rope makes when it crosses itself. To start knitting, you need to put a loop of yarn on the end of one of your needles. Loops are ovals or circles and are often made from rope or other fibers, like the loop at the end of a cowboy's lasso. The verb loop means to form the shape of a loop in the sky; or to make a loop from string or some other material. If something "throws you for a loop," it catches you by surprise, and if you're "in the loop," you have access to information that others might not have.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

loop loops looped looping

AI might be part of a broader biotech renaissance, but only if the industry can improve the feedback loop between discovery and evidence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

It would be possible to make the vehicle fully autonomous, Wedler said, but stressed that in complex humanitarian settings "we have to have a human in the loop".

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

The result was one continuous circulation loop that behaved like a steady planetary heartbeat.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

If anything, the movie could have used more of her, although it’s better overall that “Leviticus” prioritizes Naim and Ryan as queer protagonists caught in a chilling loop of escape and reunion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

My mind felt broken, stuck in an endless loop, and I couldn’t think anything except: Mom decided to stop working.

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller

Instead, it descends from the brain into the chest, loops around a major artery, then travels back up to the voice box.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

For capital importers like the U.S., to which foreigners have exposures of around $30 trillion, falling asset prices will be amplified by currency weakness as investors exit — creating adverse feedback loops and financing pressures.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

He meets Janine, his equal in appetite and id, sending him into a tailspin of yearning and loops of Sky Ferreira’s “Everything Is Embarrassing” on sadboi walks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

The report said that changes to the pit lane this year had meant that the shortest possible route between the loops was 77 centimetres less than the distance used to calculate the limit.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Soon the young fighter pilots at Engels were practicing shooting at targets and working on aerobatic loops and rolls.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

“The customer was just providing details when her husband came forward and grabbed the mobile phone started argument and cut the call,” a worker had scrawled in looped letters on a preprinted form.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

The forwards went through the phases to edge them closer to the line before the ball was looped wide to the left wing for the impressive Josh Adams to touch down.

From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026

With the game still goalless, Delap pressured Phillips into a mistake as he tried to clear and the ball looped up, struck the underside of the bar and bounced down onto the goalline.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026

Because it’s looped into your Google account, it can hunt for old emails and documents in a way that traditional search cannot.

From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2026

She has a Mets baseball hat on, with a ponytail looped through the back.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks

The former Arsenal forward also opened the scoring against Bosnia before getting sent off in the 64th minute after a tussle with Muharemovic for a looping ball.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

His use of vocal processing and the percussive clicks and subtle looping of Ms. Rodrigo’s voice give the arrangement a warm electronic tint.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

Facing his second ball, Williamson failed to get far enough forward, looping the catch to debutant Emilio Gay at short leg.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Together, they identified the "natural algorithm" responsible for creating the looping veins around the pores in the leaves.

From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026

Paths, which in daylight seem clearly trodden ways, twist and turn in the night, looping back on themselves and vanishing into dense thickets.

From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech

Related Words

• bend
• curl
• curve
• twist