View synonyms for

loose end

noun

a part or piece left hanging, unattached, or unused.
Remind me to tack down that loose end on the stairway carpet.
an unsettled detail, as of a business matter.
The arrangements have been made, except for a few loose ends.

loose end

noun

a detail that is left unsettled, unexplained, or incomplete
without purpose or occupation

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of loose end¹

First recorded in 1540–50

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

at loose ends, in an uncertain or unsettled situation or position: Also at a loose end.
Ever since leaving the company, he's been at loose ends.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

When the goonies discover their hiding place, the Fratellis plot to snuff out this loose end, causing them to literally dig deeper into the house with the criminals hot on their trail.

From

“The River Is Waiting” is more than 400 pages long, yet the ending feels like an afterthought, wrapping up loose ends without satisfying the reader.

From

The obvious manipulations, the panoply of loose ends and the cheaply provocative happenings will keep me from a return visit to this season.

From

The latest installment of “The White Lotus” comes to an end on Sunday and everyone is speculating about how the series will wrap up its loose ends, who will die and how.

From

“The Monkey” is filled with loose ends, ideas about absent fathers and childhood trauma that have their emotional impact shredded to bits by lawnmower accidents and shotgun blasts.

From

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

loose cover loose ends

Browse