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.
Tiny dog on the loose holds up San Francisco trains.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026
“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
Multiple monkeys are on the loose in St Louis, Missouri, sparking confusion and concern from the city's animal control officials, who said they do not know where the primates came from.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
Which had been true from the very start—all I’d ever known from them—so I didn’t question it much until I was older and began to pull on the loose threads in my life.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
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.
