loose cannon
English
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loose cannon
noun loose cannons
- A cannon that breaks loose from its moorings on a ship during battle or storm, with the potential to cause serious damage to the ship and her crew.
- An uncontrolled or unpredictable person, especially considered liable to cause unintentional or indiscriminate damage. Jack is considered a loose cannon due to his volatile personality and his track record of being unable to maintain his composure.
verb loose cannons · loose cannoning · loose cannoned
- To behave in a way such as to cause unintentional or indiscriminate damage. Gerald's loose cannoning triggered a volley of faithfully quoted media coverage which blasted a hole in his company's profits […]
Translations
Every language
noun unpredictable person
| Español | bala perdida |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 脱缰野马 |
| Français | électron libre |
| Deutsch | unberechenbarer Mensch, unkontrollierbarer Mensch, gemeingefährlicher Mensch |
| Italiano | mina vagante |
| Русский | обезья́на с грана́той f /lit: monkey with a grenade/ obezʹjána s granátoj |
Talk about this word "loose cannon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/loose%20cannon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. loose cannon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/loose%20cannon "loose cannon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/loose%20cannon.
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@misc{loose_cannon_2026,
title = {loose cannon},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/loose%20cannon},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
