Common mistakes
Loose or lose: spelling, sound, and sentence practice
Your shoelace can be loose. You can lose your shoe. The words sound close, but one describes a condition and the other names an action.
Choose loose or lose by deciding whether you mean not tight or fail to keep something.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
loose / lose /luːs/ /luːz/
The short answer
Use loose for something that is not tight or firmly attached. Use lose for the action of no longer having something, failing to win, or missing an opportunity.
This button is loose, so do not lose it.
Why it works: Loose describes the button. Lose tells you what might happen to it.
4 more examples
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One wheel on the suitcase is loose.
Loose describes the wheel. It is not firmly attached.
Not this:Do not
lose the suitcaseon the journey. What changes: Lose names the action of no longer having the suitcase. -
Her coat feels loose around the shoulders.
Loose describes how the coat fits. It is not tight.
Not this:She may
lose her coatif she leaves it on the bus. What changes: The coat could no longer be in her possession. -
The dog got loose when the gate opened.
Got loose means that the dog became free from control or attachment.
Not this:The dog might
lose its collarin the long grass. What changes: Lose means that the collar can no longer be found or kept. -
Keep the loose papers in a folder.
The papers are separate and not fastened together.
Not this:You could
lose the papersif you leave them on the desk. What changes: Lose is the action of misplacing the papers.
Read the full guide
Ask what the word is doing. If it describes a noun, you probably need loose. If it names an action, you probably need lose.
Use loose to describe something
Loose usually describes a noun. It tells you that something is not tight, fixed, or firmly held. You can talk about loose trousers, a loose tooth, or a loose connection.
The handle is loose, so lift the box carefully.
Here, loose describes the condition of the handle. Nobody is doing the action of losing it.
Use lose for an action
Lose is a verb. Use it when a person, team, or thing stops having something, cannot find something, or fails to win. The subject does the losing.
Please do not lose the receipt before you return the shoes.
The speaker asks the listener to keep the receipt and not misplace it.
Use spelling to check your choice
Loose has two o letters and ends in se. Lose has one o and ends in se. The extra o can remind you that loose is the describing word. Check the sentence meaning as well, because the spelling clue is only a memory aid.
Correct: My ring is loose. Correct: I do not want to lose my ring.
Hear the final consonant
The vowel sound is the same in both words. The final sound changes: loose ends with /s/, while lose ends with /z/. Say them slowly: loose, lose. The spelling and meaning still matter more than the small sound difference when you write.
The laces are loose, but you will lose the race if you stop to tie them.
Keep lose separate from lost and loosen
The past form of lose is lost: We lost the address yesterday. Loosen means make something less tight: Loosen the knot before you pull the rope. Neither word can replace loose when you only need to describe a condition.
You are describing a watch strap that is not tight enough. Which word fits: loose or lose?
Use loose: My watch strap is loose. The strap is in a condition; no one is misplacing it.
Before you go
Remember this
Use loose when something is not tight, fixed, or held together. Use lose when somebody stops having something, cannot find it, or fails to win. Remember the spelling clue: loose has two o letters; lose has one.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Loose or lose: spelling, sound, and sentence practice"
What is the main difference between loose and lose?
Loose usually describes something that is not tight, fixed, or firmly held. Lose is a verb that means to stop having something, fail to find it, or fail to win.
One wheel on the suitcase is loose.
How can I remember the spelling of loose and lose?
Loose has two o letters and usually describes a condition, such as a loose wheel. Lose has one o and names an action, such as losing a suitcase during a journey.
Do not lose the suitcase on the journey.
Is loose an adjective?
Usually, yes. Loose can come before a noun or after a linking verb. In the sentence Her coat feels loose around the shoulders, loose describes the fit of the coat.
Her coat feels loose around the shoulders.
What is the past tense of lose?
The past tense and past participle of lose are lost. Say We lost the address yesterday, not We loosed the address. Loosen is a different verb meaning make less tight.
She may lose her coat if she leaves it on the bus.
Do loose and lose sound the same?
They have the same long vowel sound in standard British pronunciation, but their final sounds differ. Loose ends in /s/ and lose ends in /z/, as in loose papers and lose the papers.
The dog got loose when the gate opened.
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