see also police, drugs, weapon
search s3:rtj [и T] to look in every part of a place or to look in someone's clothes or bags in order to try to find drugs, guns, stolen goods etc All visitors to the prison are thoroughly searched. I A team of police officers had searched the whole area, but couldn't find the murder weapon.
go through sth /'gaoHru: (sth)/ [phrasal verb T] to carefully search all of someone's clothes, bags, or possessions to try to find guns or drugs: Customs officials went through his baggage but found nothing.
raid re id [u Tj if the police raid a place, they arrive there suddenly to look for criminals, drugs, or stolen goods: The Casino nightclub has been closed since it was raided last month. I The army used to raid houses in the Catholic districts in search of guns.
frisk. frisk (и T] if the police, airport off.cials etc frisk someone, they feel the person"s clothes and body, looking for hidden weapons or drugs: AH the passengers were frisked before they got on the plane.
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LOOK FOR
frisk sb for sth What a school! All the students are frisked for drugs before morning roll-call.
an attempt to find something
search vj:rtj [n C] an attempt to find
someone or sometning, especially when this is well organized and a lot of people
are doing it
+ /or a search for survivors of the plane crash I Their search for gold took them west to Washington State, carry oat a search (^search a place) FBI agents carried out a thorough search of all the nightclubs.
search party (=an organized group of people searching for someone who is lost) When the men did not return, the commanding officer sent out a search party. house-to-house search (=when every house in an area is searched) House-to- house searches were carried out in the hope of finding the kidnapped baby.
hunt !h\nij [n singular] an organized search by a lot of people, especially ю find a criminaclass="underline" Police have launched a nationwide hunt for the killer.
raid reid/ [n CI a sudden visit by the police to a building in order to look for criminals, drugs, stolen goods etc: Two people were arrested today in a police raid on a house in South London.
LOOSE
not fitting tightly or not firmly
LOOK FOR
fixed
a polo shirt and baggy blue pants. I о comfortable baggy sweater baggy baggier - baggiest
Stretch strctJ \v 1] if clothes stretch, they become looser and do not fit you properly any more: Don't put that sweater in
the mashing machine - it'll stretch.
loosen lu:s<?n [и T] to make a piece of
clothing looser and more comfortable by unfastening it: Simon sudden/y felt very hot, so he loosened his shirt and tie. 1 Loosen any tight clothing, and lay the patient on his side.
rope/knot/chain
loose lu:s [ad;l а rope, knot, chain etc that is loose is not tied or stretched tightly. and is not as tight as it should be: The chain on my bicycle is loose - it keeps slipping.
come loose (^gradually become looser) The string around the package had come loose and some of the papers had fallen out. loosely [adv] a scarf tied loosely around his neck
slack slaek [adjl а rope or chain that is slack is not stretched as tightly as it should be: Our tent ropes were too slack, and the tent blew over in the night.
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loosen luis^n |u T] to make something loose when it has been pulled or fastened tightly: She loosened the reins so that the horse could lower its head and drink. I Carl leaned back in his chair and loosened his belt.
opposite tight
see also fasten/unfasten
A Don't confuse loose and lose (-to not be able to find something).
clothes
Loose /luss; (adjj loose clothes do not fit your body tightly, so you feel comfortable when you wear them: She wore a long, loose linen jacket. I In hot weather, loose cotton clothes are more comfortable.
baggy /'baegi/ |adj] baggy clothes are designed to be big and loose and they hide the shape of your body: Bill was wearing
something that is not fixed firmly enough
loose lu:s [adj] something that is loose is not firmly fixed in the place where it should be: Some of the floorboards are loose and they creak when you walk on them. 1 a loose tooth come loose (=gradually become looser) This door handle's come loose. a loose connection (=when wires or electrical parts are not firmly connected)
wobblu /'wDblill'wa:- [adj] something that is wobbly shakes or moves from side to side because it is not fixed as firmly as it should be: Don't sit on that chair - one of the legs is wobbly. I a wobbly ladder
ikflto make something loose that has been firmly or tightly fixed
loosen luivn \v TJ to make something
loose in order to remove it, for example a
screw or lid that has been tightly fixed: / couldn't open the jar, so Paul loosened the top for me. I These screws are all rusty. Squirt some oil on to loosen them.
LOSE
look here for ...
when you can't find something
not win a game, fight, or war
lose your home, job etc ^ if you mean 'when you do not know where you are', go to lost
Don't confuse lose and loose (=not fitting tightly).
V when you can't find something or someone
opposite find ^ see also look for, disappear
lose luiz [u T] to be unable to find something. especially because you cannot remember where you put it: If you lose your credit card, phone this number immediately, i Sy/uia lost her keys and couldn't get into the house.
losing - lost - have lost
can't /ind ka:nt faind||,kitm- to be unable to find something or someone, especially after you have spent a long time looking for them: She searched through all her pockets, but she couldn 't find the tickets. I /don't know what's happened to Eric - I can't find him anywhere.
H something or someone that you cannot find
see also look for, disappear
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missing /'misiq/ [adj] a missing object is lost and may have been stolen; a missing person cannot be found and may be in danger: Police are still searching for the missing gold. I Shes been missing for three days now, and we're very worried. + /rom Suddenly I realized that my passport was missing from my handbag, go missing (from) British (=become lost or be stolen) Every year, hundreds of