on the loose
idiom
: able to move freely : not controlled or held in a prison, cage, etc.
—used especially to describe a dangerous person, animal, or group
The prisoner escaped and is still on the loose.
A killer is on the loose.
An angry mob was on the loose.
Examples of on the loose in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Years later, the killer remains on the loose.
—
Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
An 80-year-old pedestrian and his dog were killed after they were struck by a 2009 Gray Maserati Quattroporte in a hit-and-run in Sherman Oaks, with the driver on the loose.
—City News Service, Daily News, 28 Jan. 2026
The dog bit the victim’s hand multiple times, and the dog and its owner then ran away and remain on the loose, cops said.
—Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2026
Tanner Jeannot created a turnover in the Vegas zone, poking it free from defenseman Ben Hutton, and Sean Kuraly pounced on the loose puck.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for on the loose
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Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
An 80-year-old pedestrian and his dog were killed after they were struck by a 2009 Gray Maserati Quattroporte in a hit-and-run in Sherman Oaks, with the driver on the loose.
—City News Service, Daily News, 28 Jan. 2026
The dog bit the victim’s hand multiple times, and the dog and its owner then ran away and remain on the loose, cops said.
—Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2026
Tanner Jeannot created a turnover in the Vegas zone, poking it free from defenseman Ben Hutton, and Sean Kuraly pounced on the loose puck.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for on the loose
Cite this Entry
“On the loose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20the%20loose. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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