Loose a. [Compar. Looser superl. Loosest.]
 1. Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.
    Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat.   --Shak.
 2. Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc.; -- with from or of.
 Now I stand
 Loose of my vow; but who knows Cato's thoughts ?   --Addison.
 3. Not tight or close; as, a loose garment.
 4. Not dense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of loose texture.
    With horse and chariots ranked in loose array.   --Milton.
 5. Not precise or exact; vague; indeterminate; as, a loose style, or way of reasoning.
    The comparison employed . . . must be considered rather as a loose analogy than as an exact scientific explanation.   --Whewel.
 6. Not strict in matters of morality; not rigid according to some standard of right.
    The loose morality which he had learned.   --Sir W. Scott.
 7. Unconnected; rambling.
    Vario spends whole mornings in running over loose and unconnected pages.   --I. Watts.
 8. Lax; not costive; having lax bowels.
 9. Dissolute; unchaste; as, a loose man or woman.
    Loose ladies in delight.   --Spenser.
 10. Containing or consisting of obscene or unchaste language; as, a loose epistle.
 At loose ends, not in order; in confusion; carelessly managed.
 Fast and loose. See under Fast.
 To break loose. See under Break.
 Loose pulley. Mach. See Fast and loose pulleys, under Fast.
 To let loose, to free from restraint or confinement; to set at liberty.


 Pul·ley n.; pl. Pulleys   Mach. A wheel with a broad rim, or grooved rim, for transmitting power from, or imparting power to, the different parts of machinery, or for changing the direction of motion, by means of a belt, cord, rope, or chain.
 Note: ☞ The pulley, as one of the mechanical powers, consists, in its simplest form, of a grooved wheel, called a sheave, turning within a movable frame or block, by means of a cord or rope attached at one end to a fixed point. The force, acting on the free end of the rope, is thus doubled, but can move the load through only half the space traversed by itself. The rope may also pass over a sheave in another block that is fixed. The end of the rope may be fastened to the movable block, instead of a fixed point, with an additional gain of power, and using either one or two sheaves in the fixed block. Other sheaves may be added, and the power multiplied accordingly. Such an apparatus is called by workmen a block and tackle, or a fall and tackle. See Block. A single fixed pulley gives no increase of power, but serves simply for changing the direction of motion.
 Band pulley, or Belt pulley, a pulley with a broad face for transmitting power between revolving shafts by means of a belt, or for guiding a belt.
 Cone pulley. See Cone pulley.
 Conical pulley, one of a pair of belt pulleys, each in the shape of a truncated cone, for varying velocities.
 Fast pulley, a pulley firmly attached upon a shaft.
 Loose pulley, a pulley loose on a shaft, to interrupt the transmission of motion in machinery. See Fast and loose pulleys, under Fast.
 Parting pulley, a belt pulley made in semicircular halves, which can be bolted together, to facilitate application to, or removal from, a shaft.
 Pulley block. Same as Block, n. 6.
 Pulley stile Arch., the upright of the window frame into which a pulley is fixed and along which the sash slides.
 Split pulley, a parting pulley.


 Fast, a. [Compar. Faster superl. Fastest ]
 1. Firmly fixed; closely adhering; made firm; not loose, unstable, or easily moved; immovable; as, to make fast the door.
    There is an order that keeps things fast.   --Burke.
 2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
    Outlaws . . . lurking in woods and fast places.   --Spenser.
 3. Firm in adherence; steadfast; not easily separated or alienated; faithful; as, a fast friend.
 4. Permanent; not liable to fade by exposure to air or by washing; durable; lasting; as, fast colors.
 5. Tenacious; retentive. [Obs.]
    Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.   --Bacon.
 6. Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound.
    All this while in a most fast sleep.   --Shak.
 7. Moving rapidly; quick in mition; rapid; swift; as, a fast horse.
 8. Given to pleasure seeking; disregardful of restraint; reckless; wild; dissipated; dissolute; as, a fast man; a fast liver.
 9. In such a condition, as to resilience, etc., as to make possible unusual rapidity of play or action; as, a fast racket, or tennis court; a fast track; a fast billiard table, etc.
 Fast and loose, now cohering, now disjoined; inconstant, esp. in the phrases to play at fast and loose, to play fast and loose, to act with giddy or reckless inconstancy or in a tricky manner; to say one thing and do another. “Play fast and loose with faith.” --Shak.
 Fast and loose pulleys Mach., two pulleys placed side by side on a revolving shaft, which is driven from another shaft by a band, and arranged to disengage and reëngage the machinery driven thereby. When the machinery is to be stopped, the band is transferred from the pulley fixed to the shaft to the pulley which revolves freely upon it, and vice versa.
 Hard and fast Naut., so completely aground as to be immovable.
 To make fast Naut., to make secure; to fasten firmly, as a vessel, a rope, or a door.