loosen

verb loos·en \ ˈlü-sᵊn \

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Examples: loosen in a Sentence

Definition of loosen

loosened; loosening play \ˈlüs-niŋ, ˈlü-sᵊn-iŋ\

transitive verb

1 : to release from restraint

2 : to make looser

loosened his tie

loosen a screw

3 : to relieve (the bowels) of constipation

4 : to cause or permit to become less strict —often used with up

loosened the rules

intransitive verb

: to become loose or looser

See loosen defined for English-language learners

See loosen defined for kids

Examples of loosen in a Sentence

He used a spade to loosen the soil.
She loosened the cake from the sides of the pan.
After eating so much I had to loosen my belt.
When the meeting was over he loosened his tie.
One of the screws had loosened a bit and had to be tightened.
Each generation seems to loosen the established standards of behavior.
Standards of behavior seem to be loosening everywhere.

Recent Examples of loosen from the Web

Remove the loosened dirt with your hands and lay down two to three inches of fresh mulch along the edge of the boundaries before removing the string.

— daniel bortz, sacbee, "Four home-improvement jobs you can knock out," 15 June 2018
Regulators also have taken some actions to loosen regulations hitting the top Wall Street institutions, including a proposal for streamlined enforcement of the Volcker Rule that bans proprietary trading.

— aaron back, WSJ, "Big Banks’ Regulatory Bonanza Not as Advertised," 14 June 2018
There would be no regional recourse if the EPA loosened its regulations.

— james bruggers, The Courier-Journal, "Ohio River panel wants to give up power to set pollution-control rules," 8 June 2018
The administration’s decision also is likely to further roil insurance markets that are seeing very large premium increases, fed in part by other moves by the Trump administration to loosen insurance regulations.

— noam n. levey, latimes.com, "Trump administration urges court to strike down Obamacare rule that requires insurers cover the sick," 8 June 2018
In a sop to big business, the administration has proposed loosening Depression-era regulations aimed at limiting the amount of time 16- and 17-year-olds can spend doing hazardous work, such as mining, roofing, or operating a chain saw.

— rikha sharma rani, The New Republic, "Weaponizing Children," 8 June 2018
Recruited by Florida's largest small-dollar lender, Amscot, the senior pastor at First Timothy Baptist Church in Jacksonville was among several faith leaders to visit the state's capital this year to lobby for a bill loosening payday regulations.

— renae merle, ajc, "In some states, debate over payday lending unfolds in the black church," 7 June 2018
The move comes amid other government efforts to loosen financial regulations, as President Donald Trump has promised.

— marcy gordon, USA TODAY, "Fed proposes easing Volcker rule that limits risky bank trading," 30 May 2018
But Indiana has also been loosening gun regulations for years.

— tony cook, Indianapolis Star, "Pence praised Indiana's gun laws, one week before Noblesville school shooting," 25 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'loosen.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.