loosey-goosey
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of loosey-goosey
1965–70; rhyming compound (with -y 1 ) based on the idiom loose as a goose
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 spite of all this baggage, the show was more or less a blast, especially in a loosey-goosey third act that followed two sections full of intricate pyrotechnics and well-practiced choreography.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
In Mazzulla’s more recent answer, I don’t think he’s rejecting the idea of having fun—I just think he rejects the loosey-goosey, every-player-for-himself version.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Given the stark lack of vehicles, all of the loosey-goosey guesswork integral to this industry suddenly has much less room for error.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2023
Like all of Russell’s movies, this one is by turns loosey-goosey and high strung.
From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2022
"Our challenge at Toyota is whether we dismiss BYD's way of engineering as being loosey-goosey and too risky, or whether we can learn from it," one of the sources said.
From Reuters ● Dec. 2, 2021
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
