phrasal verb · neutral
turn loose
UK/tɜːn luːs/US/tɜrn lus/turn LOOSE
task2task1speaking
to set free; to let someone go; to allow something to happen uncontrolled
Examples
“The police turned the suspect loose after questioning him.”
“When the dam broke, it turned loose a torrent of water.”
“The coach turned the young player loose on the field to see how he'd cope.”
Band 8 sentence
“After reviewing the CCTV footage, the prosecutor had to turn the suspect loose for lack of evidence.”
Collocations
- turn someone loose
- turn something loose
Word family
turn verbloose adjective / adverb
Common mistakes
turn loose someone→turn someone loose
turned looseed→turned loose
Say it for a higher band
5let go→6release→7+turn loose
Synonyms
release
Easily confused
release
“The authorities decided to release the prisoner on bail.”
Related words
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In turn …
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