Lose is only a verb. It means to suffer a loss, to be deprived of, to part with, or to fail to keep possession of. Loose is mainly an adjective, meaning not tightly fitted or unfettered. It also works as a verb, meaning to release, but this sense is rarely used. And it has a rare noun meaning that is mainly confined to the idiom on the loose, which means at large. When you need a verb meaning to partially release or to relax, loosen is usually the best choice.
Examples
These writers use lose well:
Lose four games in a row in the NFL and you’re pretty much finished. [Wall Street Journal]
Because I was so young and so skint I didn’t have much to lose when I first came to London. [Guardian]
Loose is often used where lose is meant—for example:
Police officials currently do not know what caused Dominguez to loose control of his vehicle. [New York Injury News]
These writers use loose correctly:
If loose lending and over-borrowing didn’t cause the housing bubble, what did? [CNBC]
Just imagine what the company’s already cluttered competitive landscape would be like if HBO Go were loosed on the world as a standalone product? [Variety]
Attorneys have pressed that police should have alerted their force sooner to the possibility of a suspect on the loose marked with blood. [Roanoke Times]
