A quick and friendly reminder about lose and loose.

They are two different words with two different pronunciations.

·      Lose is pronounced with the same “oo” sound as in the word choose. And there’s a “z” sound in there as well.

·      Loose is pronounced the same way you’d say goose. (A definite “s” sound; no “z” sound.)

They have different meanings. Simply:

·      Lose means you no longer (or will no longer) have something, or you didn’t (or will not) win something.

·      Loose means something isn’t secured, or it’s not restrained or restricted.

Putting the words into practice: If you’re trying to make it as a social media influencer in the fashion field of skintight clothing, you probably should think twice about posting pics of yourself wearing loose clothing; you don’t want to lose followers, do you?

Special thanks to Carol Wanda Spradlin, CDFA and Judy Beebe, FSDA, both of the Seattle Chapter,

for providing our current Word Nerd feature.