to loose off
- phrasal verb
- /luːs ɔf/
- Informal
:
disparar
- I prefer they didn't exist and certainly hope the Royal Navy will never be ordered to loose off a few (although if that knob in Iran doesn't give us back our yachtsmen, then I might make an exception).
Examples
-
The soldier loosed off a single shot to signal the start of the exercise.
-
During the training session, the instructor loosed off several rounds to demonstrate proper aiming.
-
He loosed off two shots into the air to celebrate his team's victory.
Synonyms
16
5.8
Fire a gun or other weapon
3
5.8
Send something suddenly and forcefully, like a rock or angry words
To shoot something from a gun or bow
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Morphology
There is a motivated compositional link: 'loose' = release and 'off' as a particle meaning away/completive suggests releasing something away, which can plausibly extend to releasing a shot (i.e. firing). However, the specific sense 'to fire a gun' is not fully predictable from the parts alone (and the separate slang sense of 'off' = murder can be confusing), so learners would likely need prior exposure to be certain.
Etymology
Loose off comes from the old action of letting something go: to loose means to release an arrow or bullet. So when someone loosed off a rifle they literally let a shot go, and today the phrase means 'to fire' a weapon.