on the loose
71
4.5
- idiom
- The police issued a warning that there is a dangerous suspect on the loose.
- killer on the loose
- still on the loose
- serial killer on the loose
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Watch on YouTubeIs the wolf on the loose referring to the boy who cried wolf?
- Is the wolf on the loose referring to the boy who cried wolf?
- Watch the news, hoped you hear rumors about one guy might be on the loose, running free.
Examples
-
Do we have a serial killer on the loose in the city?
Fiction book (1995) -
There's a mad woman on the loose!
-
We have a cop killer on the loose.
Fiction book (1995) -
You think I want my kid in a school with a murderer on the loose?
Fiction book (1993) -
We have a serial killer on the loose.
-
I repeat, we have two escaped prisoners on the loose.
-
A rapist on the loose.
Academic text (2006) -
There's a killer on the loose!
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We have got a madman on the loose in Nevada.
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There's a kidnapper on the loose.
Synonyms
240
1.9
Free and not controlled by anyone
60
6.2
Free and not caught after escaping, often said about criminals or dangerous animals
21
9.9
Hiding from the police or other officials
1
8.8
A person who police have not caught after a crime
Antonyms
How Free
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core meaning comes directly from 'loose' (free/not under control) with the locative/state marker 'on the' indicating being in that condition; together they transparently convey 'being free/escaped'. This follows a regular English pattern (be + on the + adjective/state) and is cross-linguistically plausible, so a B1 learner who knows the words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
On the loose comes from the image of an animal or person whose rope or chain is loose and can run away. So, it now means 'having escaped and free', often dangerous or hard to find.