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Examples of loose cannon in a Sentence
a politician who is regarded as a loose cannon by her colleagues
Recent Examples on the Web
That’s also because the movie has a quasi-magical force for good in the lovable lug who comes on like a loose cannon, threatening disaster at every turn, but somehow, with guilelessness and honesty, always manages to emerge smelling like roses.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024
Its setup repeats the odd-couple dynamic of its predecessor, with Lil Rel Howery and Yvonne Orji once again playing the straight man/woman to John Cena and Meredith Hagner’s free-spirited loose cannons.
—Michael Nordine, Variety, 25 Aug. 2023
At the end, the unit was being led by Baltimore Police Sergeant and resident loose cannon Wayne Jenkins, who was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for a host of things, including two counts of robbery, destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2022
Police everywhere should be angry that a loose cannon has been rehired.
—Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2023
Isaac is a crude loose cannon who represents the biggest threat of actual danger among the ensemble.
—Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2023
Even Laura Ingraham, one of Trump’s most unflinching supporters, agreed that Powell and Rudy Giuliani were both loose cannons.
—Dave Goldiner New York Daily News (tns), al, 17 Feb. 2023
Sarah has a lazy day, hopping on a bus as soon as her school day ends to secretly get her father's watch fixed for his birthday, while Joel is off working jobs as a contractor; his brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna) is also around and clearly the loose cannon of this family dynamic.
—Men's Health, 16 Jan. 2023
Arians could be a loose cannon at times.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'loose cannon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1889, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to loose cannon
Dictionary Entries Near loose cannon
Cite this Entry
“Loose cannon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loose%20cannon. Accessed 31 May. 2024.
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