Antonyms for turn loose

Grammar : Verb

Spell : loos

Phonetic Transcription : lus

Definition of turn loose

Origin : early 13c., "not securely fixed;" c.1300, "unbound," from Old Norse lauss "loose, free, vacant, dissolute," cognate with Old English leas "devoid of, false, feigned, incorrect," from Proto-Germanic *lausaz (cf. Danish løs "loose, untied," Swedish lös "loose, movable, detached," Middle Dutch, German los "loose, free," Gothic laus "empty, vain"), from PIE *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart" (see lose). Meaning "not clinging, slack" is mid-15c. Meaning "not bundled" is late 15c. Sense of "unchaste, immoral" is recorded from late 15c. Meaning "at liberty, free from obligation" is 1550s. Sense of "rambling, disconnected" is from 1680s. Figurative sense of loose cannon was in use by 1896, probably from celebrated image in a popular story by Hugo:
You can reason with a bull dog, astonish a bull, fascinate a boa, frighten a tiger, soften a lion; no resource with such a monster as a loose cannon. You cannot kill it, it is dead; and at the same time it lives. It lives with a sinister life which comes from the infinite. It is moved by the ship, which is moved by the sea, which is moved by the wind. This exterminator is a plaything. [Victor Hugo, "Ninety Three"]
Loose end in reference to something unfinished, undecided, unguarded is from 1540s; to be at loose ends is from 1807. Phrase on the loose "free, unrestrained" is from 1749 (upon the loose).

As in release : verb let go, let out
As in manumit : verb free
As in free : verb liberate, let go

Example sentences :

I wanted to turn loose the blunderbusses, but the Boss said: "No, let 'em enjoy themselves."
Extract from : « Shorty McCabe » by Sewell Ford

Don't you know enough to wait for "Three" before you turn loose?'
Extract from : « The Glory of The Coming » by Irvin S. Cobb

You turn loose on that one on the right, and I will look after the one on the left.
Extract from : « Cruisings in the Cascades » by George O. Shields

I couldn't say them and wouldn't say them before your wife, but now I'm going to turn loose.
Extract from : « The Iron Furrow » by George C. Shedd

With a .22 automatic one could turn loose at all sorts of ranges at all speeds.
Extract from : « The Killer » by Stewart Edward White

I guess I'll have to turn loose and lie, so yuh'll listen to me.
Extract from : « The Happy Family » by Bertha Muzzy Bower

These children we try to turn loose on the lively East Side, where they can join in the vigorous games of the slums.
Extract from : « The Crow's Nest » by Clarence Day, Jr.

A hunter that cannot get his limit of big game with twenty rifle cartridges is an unsafe individual to turn loose in the woods.
Extract from : « Packing and Portaging » by Dillon Wallace

Then they exchanged winks, for it had really never been their intention to turn loose upon Bud again.
Extract from : « The Banner Boy Scouts on a Tour » by George A. Warren

That night was black and lowering, fitting weather for the pandemonium I was about to turn loose.
Extract from : « Humorous Ghost Stories » by Dorothy Scarborough

Synonyms for turn loose

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019