loosey-goosey
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of loosey-goosey
1965–70; rhyming compound (with -y 1 ) based on the idiom loose as a goose
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Much more contentious are the loosey-goosey rules on player transfers and eligibility, which have allowed athletes to chase better openings and financial offers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
“It is not random, it is not loosey-goosey, it is not something capricious,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2025
The code of conduct looks as fake and loosey-goosey as ever.
From Slate • Dec. 5, 2024
The European players have instead played it loosey-goosey, practicing in indistinct groups that seemed to lack forethought.
From New York Times • Sep. 23, 2021
“It made people more serious,” she said of the pandemic, “not so loosey-goosey ... It’s going to for sure leave a mark on our generation.”
From Reuters • Dec. 24, 2020
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
