Although loose and lose share no definitions, the misuse of loose in place of lose is a common mistake among inexpert writers. Confusion in the opposite direction also happens, but much less frequently.
Lose
Lose means to suffer a loss, to be deprived of, to part with, or to fail to keep possession of. It has no adjectival meanings. These writers use lose correctly:
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
As an adjective, loose means not tightly fitted or unfettered. As a verb, it means to release. It has a rare noun meaning that is mainly confined to the idiom on the loose, meaning at large. When you need a verb meaning to partially release or to relax, loosen is usually the best choice.
Loose is often used where lose is meant. For example, this is incorrect:
Police officials currently do not know what caused Dominguez to loose control of his vehicle. [New York Injury News]
A careful editor would replace this loose with lose.
These are examples of correct loose usage:
If loose lending and over-borrowing didn’t cause the housing bubble, what did? [CNBC]
And it did resemble rice pudding, albeit a loose, creamy one. [Babble]
Another issue the City has addressed is a loose brick found on the sidewalk, next to the Chandler Building. [KCBY]
