Meanings
present singular third person loosens up · participle present loosening up · participle past loosened up · past loosened up
- colloquialTo relax; to act less seriously.
Michael in turn benefits from Tom. He loosens up a bit, stops talking so much like one of the bad novels he used to read, and learns to give his intellect a rest once in a while in deference to the emotions.
1983 December 31, Kenneth Hale-Wehmann, “The Business of Sex and Affection”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 24, page 8
Synonyms & antonyms
verbbecome less tense, less formal, or less restrained, and assume a friendlier manner
verbmake one's body limber or suppler by stretching, as if to prepare for strenuous physical activity
verbbecome less tense, rest, or take one's ease
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Compare Old Norse leysa upp (“loosen up”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
loosen up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loosen%20up
“loosen up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loosen%20up. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “loosen up,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loosen%20up.
Source: loosen up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.