let loose

English

Verb

to let loose (third-person singular simple present lets loose, present participle letting loose, simple past and past participle let loose)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To free; to release from restraint.
   • 1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, A Footnote to History, ch. 2:

     I can imagine the man . . . prepared to oppress rival firms, overthrow inconvenient monarchs, and let loose the dogs of war.

   • 1916, Arthur Conan Doyle, "A Glimpse of the French Line" in A Visit to Three Fronts:

     May God's curse rest upon the arrogant men and the unholy ambitions which let loose this horror upon humanity!

   • 2010 March 27, "Tennis: Venus wins," USA Today (retrieved 22 July 2011):

     Mardy Fish walloped the final shot of the match for a winner, and he let loose a jubilant roar of his own.

2. (intransitive, idiomatic, sometimes followed by with or on) To shout, make a loud sound, or perform a sudden, vehement action; to behave in a raucous, frenzied manner.
   • 1901, Harold MacGrath, The Puppet Crown, ch. 17:

     He set his teeth, and let loose with a fury before which nothing could stand; and Maurice was forced back step by step until he was almost up with the wall.

   • 1965 Nov. 12, "Jazz: The Newest Sound," Time:

     Thus encouraged, the Tijuana Brass let loose with its patented version of The Lonely Bull.

   • 2005 Dec.27, "Report: Jack Black recalls 'lost weekend'," USA Today (retrieved 22 July 2011):

     As if a giant ape weren't enough to get Jack Black going in King Kong, the actor says he let loose one time while making the film.

Synonyms

• (transitive: free, release): loose (verb), unleash
• (intransitive: make a loud sound, behave in a frenzied manner): explode, go ape, holler, vociferate

Translations

release from restraint

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 放開／放开 (fàngkāi), 放开 (zh) (fàngkāi)

• Finnish: päästää irti, irrottaa (fi), vapauttaa (fi)
• French: lâcher (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: loslassen (de)
• Japanese: 切り放す (きりはなす, kirihanasu), 放す (ja) (はなす, hanasu)
• Russian: выпуска́ть (ru) impf (vypuskátʹ), вы́пустить (ru) pf (výpustitʹ), отпуска́ть (ru) impf (otpuskátʹ), отпусти́ть (ru) pf (otpustítʹ)
• Spanish: soltar (es)
• Swedish: släppa lös, släppa (sv)

perform a sudden, vehement action

• French: se déchaîner (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}