Loose 主要當形容詞用，意為「寬鬆的；鬆動的；鬆散的；鬆弛的；疏鬆的；鬆軟的；不受束縛的，未予控制的；零散的；散裝的；不準確的；(組織) 不嚴密的；(糞便等) 稀的」等，如 Linda always wears loose garments. (琳達總是穿著寬鬆的衣服)；I have got two loose teeth. (我有兩顆牙齒鬆動了)；My shoelace is loose. (我的鞋帶鬆了)；These seven countries have established a loose alliance. (這七個國家已建立一個鬆散聯盟)；They let the dogs loose on the intruders. (他們放狗攻擊闖入者)；They let the children loose on the cellphones. (他們讓小孩隨便玩手機)；The movie actress managed to break/get/shake loose from her kidnappers. (那位女電影明星成功地掙脫綁匪的控制)；The kidnappers had let/set/turned the movie actress loose on a dark country lane. (綁匪在一條黑暗的鄉間小路釋放了那位女電影明星)；loose soil/stones (鬆土/碎石)；loose change (零錢)；Loose cigarettes are 5 pesos each. (散裝/零賣的香菸每支五披索)；There were a few loose sheets of paper lying on the ground. (有幾張紙散落在地板上)；It’s only a loose translation of the English song. (這只是那首英文歌曲不準確的翻譯)；I had loose bowels (or I had diarrhea) all day long yesterday. (我昨天一整天都在拉肚子)。
Loose 亦可用作動詞和名詞，當動詞用時意為「鬆開；放鬆；鬆綁；放開；發射 (子彈或飛彈)；射 (箭)；使 (壞事) 失控」，時態變化為 loose, loosed, loosed, loosing, looses，如 Mary helped her son loose the laces of his shoes. (瑪麗幫她兒子解開鞋帶)；They loosed the dogs on the intruders. (他們放狗攻擊闖入者)，但這樣的用法非常罕見，一般都使用上述的 They let the dogs loose on the intruders.；He loosed our bonds. (他為我們鬆綁)；The hunter loosed (off) at the wildebeest. (獵人對那隻牛羚射擊)；A few drinks loosed his tongue. (幾杯黃湯下肚，他的話匣子就打開了 / 幾杯黃湯下肚，他的話就開始多了起來)。
Loose 與另一動詞 loosen 不僅拼字相近，而且是部分同義詞，如 A few drinks loosened his tongue. － to loose/loosen one’s tongue 意為「打開話匣子」。然而，若要表達部分鬆開、放鬆或使不那麼拘束、比較鬆動，則要使用 loosen 而不用 loose，如 The medicine can loosen the bowels. (這藥能通腸/通便 － 讓便比較好拉)；The government’s control over the media has loosened in recent years. (近年來政府對媒體的控制變鬆了)。
Loose 的名詞用法僅限於 on the loose 這個片語，意為「(危險份子或動物) 脫逃的；(尤指) 從監獄脫逃的，逍遙法外的 (at large)」，如 The escaped criminal is still on the loose. (逃走的罪犯仍逍遙法外)；The dangerous criminal escaped from prison last year and has been on the loose ever since. (那個危險的罪犯自去年越獄後一直逍遙法外)。
Lose 僅當動詞用，意為「喪失；失去；損失；遺失；丟失；迷失；輸；賠 (錢)；(鐘錶) 走慢；使…迷惑」等，時態變化為 lose, lost, lost, losing, loses，如 Bruce lost his job last year. (布魯斯去年失業了)；He lost his wife recently. (他最近喪妻)；He lost his daughter in a car accident. (他女兒在車禍中喪生)；She lost her sight in an accident. (她在一次事故中雙目失明)；I lost interest halfway through the novel. (這本小說我看了一半就沒興趣了)；I’ve lost my concert ticket. (我弄丟了演唱會入場券)；She’s lost a lot of weight recently. (她最近減重不少)；Japan lost 2–1 to China. (日本隊以 1 比 2 輸給中國隊)；The company lost more than 500 million dollars last year. (這家公司去年虧損了五億多)；My watch loses five minutes every day. (我的手錶每天慢五分鐘)；I’m sorry, you’ve lost me there. (很抱歉，你把我弄糊塗了)；Give it a try; you’ve got nothing to lose. (試試看吧，你又沒什麼好損失的)。由 lose 所構成的片語不在少數，它們大多頗為常用，值得學習，但礙於篇幅無法在此一一詳述，請勤查字典及其他參考資料。