on the loose
Idioms-
At large, free, as in That dog of theirs is on the loose all the time . [Second half of 1800s]
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Acting without restraint, as in After the game the players were in town, on the loose . [Mid-1700s]
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.
“They told me a suspect was on the loose and that police were holding a perimeter. I didn’t know he was armed,” Hammitt said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026
Meanwhile, seven menacing figures in shaggy bleached-blond wigs are on the loose, looking like the world’s most dangerous bubblegum pop band.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026
Goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov dropped an early free-kick from Rangers captain James Tavernier, but managed to block the shot from Barron, who was waiting to pounce on the loose ball.
From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026
An alligator on the loose in Boston became a social-media star.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 14, 2025
But we know that once the missile crisis began, the KGB considered it too dangerous to have Penkovsky on the loose.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
