See Also: T loop of RNA(medicine)
R loop(medicine)
P loop(medicine)
Loop(medicine)
g loop(medicine)
loop(1)(dictionary)
loop(2)(dictionary)
loop(3)(dictionary)
D loop(medicine)
loop(4)(dictionary)

loop(2) (iou)



loop noun2. [lu:p] LME.
[Origin uncertain: cf. Irish lub, Gaelic lub a loop, a bend, etc.]
I.
A portion of a string, rope, thread, etc., doubled or crossing itself so as to form an aperture, commonly fastened at the point of crossing or juncture (used e.g. as an ornament for dress or as part of a fastener taking a hook or button). LME.
E. Linklater Round his neck was the running loop of a rope. P. Bowles He swung the box on one finger by the little loop..in the string. R. Ingalls The dragon had his tail curled into loops. Vogue Shirt..with loop for buttoning collar up.
A thing, course, or figure having more or less the shape of a loop, as a curved line that crosses itself traced or written on paper, a part of the apparent path of a planet, a deep bend of a river; a ring or curved piece of metal etc., as one employed for the insertion of a bolt, ramrod, or rope, as a handle for lifting. LME.
in the loop kept fully informed; included in a process. out of the loop not kept fully informed; excluded from a process.
M. Hughes The river meandered in a wide lazy loop. Tennis His fear of losing made him hit the ball in higher and higher loops. New Yorker Her handwriting was neat and sloping, loops on the letters that demanded them.
II. spec.
(A looped part of) a stitch in knitting, crochet, etc. L18.
Anatomy & Zoology. A looped vessel, fibre, or other structure. M19.
Henle's loop, loop of Henle: see HENLE.
Math. A closed curve (on a graph etc.). M19.
a. A complete circuit or path for an electrical signal or current. M19.
b. A railway or telegraph line diverging from, and afterwards returning to, the main line or circuit. L19.
Skating. A curve crossing itself, or any of several elaborations upon this, made on a single edge. Also (in full loop jump), a jump in which the skater makes a full turn in the air, taking off from and landing on the same edge. M19.
Physics. The portion of a standing wave between two nodes. L19.
A configuration in fingerprints with lines shaped like simple loops. L19.
A vertically curved path described by an aeroplane, (orig.) a fairground machine, etc., with a climb and a dive between which the body of the plane etc. is upside down; a manoeuvre in which such a path is taken. E20.
loop the loop: see LOOP verb1 6. outside loop: see OUTSIDE adjective.
A slack length of film etc. left between two mechanisms to allow for a difference between the supply and take-up motions; an endless strip of film or magnetic tape allowing continuous repetition. E20.
= loop aerial below. E20.
A sequence of control operations or activities in which each depends on the result of the previous one; esp. (more fully closed loop) one in which there is feedback. M20.
open loop: see OPEN adjective.
Computing. A sequence of instructions which is executed repeatedly (usu. with an operand that changes in each cycle) until some previously specified criterion is satisfied. M20.
A type of intrauterine contraceptive coil. M20.
LIPPES LOOP.
Comb.: loop aerial, loop antenna an aerial consisting of one or more loops of wire; loop diuretic Medicine a powerful diuretic which inhibits resorption of water and sodium from the loop of Henle in the kidney; loop film an endless loop of cinematographic film; loop jump: see sense 7 above; loop-knit adjective knitted with loop yarn; loop-knot (a) a reef-knot; (b) a single knot tied in a doubled cord etc., so as to leave a loop beyond the knot; loop-lace (a) a kind of ornament consisting of a series of loops; (b) a kind of lace consisting of patterns worked on a ground of fine net; loop-line = sense 6b above; loop pile carpet pile with uncut loops; loop-stitch noun & verb (a) noun a kind of fancy stitch consisting of loops; (b) verb trans. connect or attach by means of loop-stitches; loop system a method of connecting electrical supply points (as lamp roses) by taking the wires to each point from terminals at its switch and at the previous supply point, instead of making a separate joint elsewhere in the circuit; loop-work work consisting of loops or looped stitches; loop-worm = LOOPER noun1 1; loop yarn yarn with one thread fastened in loops around another (usu. finer) thread.