loop

[ loop ]

/ lup /

noun

a portion of a cord, ribbon, etc., folded or doubled upon itself so as to leave an opening between the parts.

anything shaped more or less like a loop, as a line drawn on paper, a part of a letter, a part of a path, or a line of motion.

a curved piece or a ring of metal, wood, or the like, used for the insertion of something, as a handle, etc.

intrauterine device.

Aeronautics. a maneuver executed by an airplane in such a manner that the airplane describes a closed curve in a vertical plane.

a circular area at the end of a trolley line, railroad line, etc., where cars turn around.

an arm of a cloverleaf where traffic may turn off or onto a main road or highway.

Physics. the part of a vibrating string, column of air or other medium, etc., between two adjacent nodes.

Electricity. a closed electric or magnetic circuit.

Computers. the reiteration of a set of instructions in a routine or program.

a wire, usually of platinum, one end of which is curved to form a loop, used for transferring microorganisms from one medium to another.

a sand bar that encloses or nearly encloses a body of water.

Figure Skating. a school figure in which a skater traces a large half circle, a small oval within its arc, and another large half circle to complete the figure while remaining on the same skating edge.

the Loop, the main business district of Chicago.

verb (used with object)

to form into a loop.

to make a loop in.

to enfold or encircle in or with something arranged in a loop.

to fasten by forming into a loop, or by means of something formed into a loop (often followed by up): to loop up the new draperies.

to cause (a missile or projectile) to trace a looping or looplike trajectory through the air: to loop a grenade into the building.

to fly (an airplane) in a loop or series of loops.

to construct a closed electric or magnetic circuit.

Movies. to complete by means of looping: We still have to loop the final scenes.

verb (used without object)

to make or form a loop: The river loops around the two counties.

to move by forming loops, as a measuringworm.

to trace a looping or looplike path through the air: The fly ball looped high in the air.

to perform a loop or series of loops in an airplane.

Movies. to record dialogue, sound effects, etc., onto an existing film track or soundtrack.

Idioms for loop

in/out of the loop, included in or excluded from a group of people who receive the latest information about something: She’s often out of the loop on policy decisions.

throw/knock for a loop, to astonish or upset: Her quitting the project really threw me for a loop.

Origin of loop

1350–1400; Middle English loupe loop of cloth, perhaps < Scots Gaelic lub loop, bend

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH loop

loop loupe

Words nearby loop

looney, loonie, loony, loony bin, loony tunes, loop, loop aerial, loop diuretic, loop knot, loop of henle, loop of spinal nerves

British Dictionary definitions for knock for a loop (1 of 2)

loop ¹

/ (luːp) /

noun

the round or oval shape formed by a line, string, etc, that curves around to cross itself

any round or oval-shaped thing that is closed or nearly closed

a piece of material, such as string, curved round and fastened to form a ring or handle for carrying by

an intrauterine contraceptive device in the shape of a loop

electronics

a closed electric or magnetic circuit through which a signal can circulate
short for loop aerial

a flight manoeuvre in which an aircraft flies one complete circle in the vertical plane

Also called: loop line mainly British a railway branch line which leaves the main line and rejoins it after a short distance

maths physics a closed curve on a graph hysteresis loop

another name for antinode

anatomy

the most common basic pattern of the human fingerprint, formed by several sharply rising U-shaped ridgesCompare arch 1 (def. 4b), whorl (def. 3)
a bend in a tubular structure, such as the U-shaped curve in a kidney tubule (Henle's loop or loop of Henle)

computing a series of instructions in a program, performed repeatedly until some specified condition is satisfied

skating a jump in which the skater takes off from a back outside edge, makes one, two, or three turns in the air, and lands on the same back outside edge

a group of people to whom information is circulated (esp in the phrases in or out of the loop)

verb

(tr) to make a loop in or of (a line, string, etc)

(tr) to fasten or encircle with a loop or something like a loop

Also: loop the loop to cause (an aircraft) to perform a loop or (of an aircraft) to perform a loop

(intr) to move in loops or in a path like a loop

Word Origin for loop

C14: loupe, origin unknown

British Dictionary definitions for knock for a loop (2 of 2)

loop ²

/ (luːp) /

noun

an archaic word for loophole

Word Origin for loop

C14: perhaps related to Middle Dutch lupen to watch, peer

Medical definitions for knock for a loop

loop

[ lōōp ]

n.

A curve or bend in a cord or other cylindrical body, forming an oval or circular ring.

A type of loop-shaped intrauterine device.

Idioms and Phrases with knock for a loop (1 of 2)

knock for a loop

Also, throw for a loop; knock down or over with a feather; knock sideways. Overcome with surprise or astonishment, as in The news of his death knocked me for a loop, or Being fired without any warning threw me for a loop, or Jane was knocked sideways when she found out she won. The first two of these hyperbolic colloquial usages, dating from the first half of the 1900s, allude to the comic-strip image of a person pushed hard enough to roll over in the shape of a loop. The third hyperbolic term, often put as You could have knocked me down with a feather, intimating that something so light as a feather could knock one down, dates from the early 1800s; the fourth was first recorded in 1925.

Idioms and Phrases with knock for a loop (2 of 2)

loop

see in the loop; knock for a loop.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

loop

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for loop

Origin of loop

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH loop

Words nearby loop

British Dictionary definitions for knock for a loop (1 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for loop

British Dictionary definitions for knock for a loop (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for loop

Medical definitions for knock for a loop

n.

Idioms and Phrases with knock for a loop (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with knock for a loop (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

loop

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for loop

Origin of loop

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH loop

Words nearby loop

Words related to knock for a loop

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for knock for a loop (1 of 2)

noun

verb

Word Origin for loop

British Dictionary definitions for knock for a loop (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for loop

Medical definitions for knock for a loop

n.

Idioms and Phrases with knock for a loop (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with knock for a loop (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for knock for a loop (1 of 2)