lösen

From Old High German lōsen, from Proto-Germanic *lausijaną. Cognate with Dutch lozen, obsolete English leese (from Old English līesan); also Danish løse, Faroese loysa, Icelandic leysa (“to loosen, to resolve, to untie”), Norwegian løse and Swedish lösa (all from the Old Norse leysa).

• IPA^(key): [ˈløːzn̩], [ˈløːzən]

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lösen (third-person singular simple present löst, past tense löste, past participle gelöst, auxiliary haben)

1. (transitive) to loose; to loosen; to detach; to remove

   (etwas) von (etwas anderes) lösen - "to remove (something) from (something else)"

2. (transitive) to separate
   • 2010, Der Spiegel, issue 35/2010, page 96:

     Viele Gewässer sind mit Quecksilber belastet, das die Goldsucher einsetzen, um das Metall vom Gestein zu lösen.

     Many waters are polluted with mercury, which is used by gold diggers to separate the metal from the rock.

3. (transitive) to cast off; to remove
4. (transitive, of a problem, puzzle, question, conflict, figuratively) to solve; to resolve; to answer
5. (reflexive) to come loose
6. (reflexive) to dissolve
7. (of a ticket) to buy

   eine Fahrkarte lösen - "to buy a ticket"

8. (transitive) to release; to undo; to untie; to ease
9. (transitive, of a relationship, figuratively) to dissolve; to disband; to break up; to end

• auflösen
• auslösen
• einlösen
• erlösen
• herauslösen

• lösen in Duden online