loop

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loop¹

  • /luːp/

Sounds like loupe · Rhymes with -uːp

Where it comes from

From Middle English loupe (“noose, loop”), earlier lowp-knot (“loop-knot”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse hlaup (“a run”), used in the sense of a "running knot", from hlaupa (“to leap”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną (“to leap, run”). Compare Swedish löp-knut (“loop-knot”), Danish løb-knude (“a running knot”), Danish løb (“a course”). More at leap. The verb is derived from the noun.

noun loops

  1. A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening.
  2. The opening so formed.
  3. A shape produced by a curve that bends around and crosses itself. Arches, loops, and whorls are patterns found in fingerprints.
  4. A process that returns to its beginning and then repeats itself in the same sequence. feedback loop

    Similar: cycle

  5. A ring road or beltway.
  6. An endless strip of tape or film allowing continuous repetition. He can hang out in the back room of the local adult bookstore […] and hope for a stand-up blow-job through the glory hole in the partition of the two booths that show gay loops.
  7. A complete circuit for an electric current.
  8. A programmed sequence of instructions that is repeated until or while a particular condition is satisfied.
  9. An edge that begins and ends on the same vertex.
  10. A path that starts and ends at the same point.
  11. A bus or rail route, walking route, etc. that starts and ends at the same point.
  12. A place at a terminus where trains or trams can turn round and go back the other way without having to reverse; a balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop. In 1908 the line was extended to a station called Wood Lane, which was built on a terminal track loop so that trains could turn round and go back the other way, [...]
  13. A passing loop. Basingstoke-Exeter will test this. From Salisbury westwards, it's largely single-track since British Rail downgraded it in 1967. There's a ten-mile loop between Templecombe and Yeovil, as well as shorter loops at Chard, Axminster and Honiton.
  14. A quasigroup with an identity element.
  15. A loop-shaped intrauterine device.
  16. An aerobatic maneuver in which an aircraft flies a circular path in a vertical plane.
  17. A small, narrow opening; a loophole. And stop all sight-holes, every loop from whence / The eye of Reason may pry in upon us.
  18. alternative Alternative form of loup (“mass of iron”).
  19. A flexible region in a protein's secondary structure.
  20. Canada, US, dated A sports league Arellano formerly cavorted for the Galicias in the fast-paced National-American Soccer loop.
  21. The curved path of the ball bowled by a spin bowler.

verb loops · looping · looped

  1. transitive To form something into a loop.
  2. transitive To fasten or encircle something with a loop.
  3. transitive To fly an aircraft in a loop.
  4. transitive To move something in a loop.
  5. transitive To play something (such as a song or video) in a loop.
  6. transitive To join electrical components to complete a circuit.
  7. transitive To duplicate the route of a pipeline.
  8. transitive To create an error in a computer program so that it runs in an endless loop and the computer freezes up.
  9. intransitive To form a loop.
  10. intransitive To move in a loop. The program loops until the user presses a key.
  11. To place in a loop. It found that trains often looped on their journey emit 14% to 20% more NOx and particulates than non-stop services.
  12. ambitransitive To have the teacher progress through multiple school years with the same students. Tolland Middle School in Connecticut where close to four hundred middle school students participated in looping, students from looped classroom structures scored much higher than students from prior years without the looped structure on standardized tests in mathematics and writing.

Loop²

proper noun Loops

  1. A surname.
  2. informal, singular The City Loop. Does this train go through the Loop?

LOOP³

noun

  1. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of loss of offsite power

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: eyelet, grommet, curl, coil, intertwine, circuit, cringle, closed circuit, rope, fasten, ring, ribbon, picot, lock, table, box

Translations

Every language

noun transportation route that starts and ends at the same point

Españolvuelta, anillo vial, anillo, ronda, circunvalación
Françaisboucle
DeutschRundweg, Ring, Ringstraße, Gürtel

noun length of thread, line or rope

Españollazo, lazada, gaza, recodo
한국어고리 gori
日本語ループ rūpu
中文圈 quān, 環 /环 huán
हिन्दीकुंडली kuṇḍlī
Portuguêslaço
Françaisboucle
DeutschSchlaufe, Schlinge
Italianocappio
Ελληνικάθηλιά thiliá, βρόχος vróchos
Românăbuclă
Русскийпе́тля pétlja, петля́ petljá
Tiếng Việtđường nhánh, thòng lọng
العربيةعُرْوَة ʕurwa, عُقْدَة ʕuqda

noun shape produced by a curve that bends around and crosses itself

Españollazo, recodo, vuelta, círculo, bucle
日本語輪 wa, ループ rūpu
中文循環 /循环 xúnhuán, 環 /环 huán
Portuguêslaço
Françaisboucle
DeutschSchlaufe, Schleife
Italianopassante
Ελληνικάθηλιά thiliá, βρόχος vróchos
Русскийпе́тля pétlja, петля́ petljá

noun endless strip of tape or film allowing continuous repetition

Españolrizo, círculo, bucle infinito, cinta infinita
Portuguêsfita
DeutschEndlosschleife
Italianoriccio
Русскийпе́тля pétlja, петля́ petljá

noun complete circuit for an electric current

Españolcircuito cerrado
Portuguêscircuito
Françaiscircuit fermé
DeutschStromkreis, geschlossener Stromkreis
Italianoanello
Ελληνικάπλήρες ηλεκτρικό κύκλωμα plíres ilektrikó kýkloma
Русскийцепь cepʹ, схе́ма sxéma

noun programmed sequence of instructions

Españolciclo, bucle
Portuguêsciclo, laço, loop
Françaisboucle
DeutschSchleife
Ελληνικάβρόχος vróchos
Русскийцикл cikl

noun edge that begins and ends on the same vertex of a graph

Españollazo
Françaisboucle
DeutschSchlaufe

noun topology: path that starts and ends at the same point

Españollazo

noun quasigroup with an identity element

Españolbucle
DeutschLoop

noun loop-shaped intrauterine device

Italianospirale
Ελληνικάενδοκολπικό διάφραγμα endokolpikó diáfragma
Русскийспира́ль spirálʹ

noun aircraft maneuver

Españollooping, rizo
Portuguêslooping, loop
Françaisboucle
DeutschLooping
Italianocerchio della morte, giro della morte
Русскиймёртвая пе́тля mjórtvaja pétlja, мёртвая петля́ mjórtvaja petljá

verb to create an endless loop in a computer program

Portuguêsrepetir (programa)

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"loop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/loop. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

loop. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/loop

Chicago

"loop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/loop.

BibTeX
@misc{loop_2026,
  title = {loop},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/loop},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}