{
    "term": "release",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "academic": true,
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "release",
            "heSheIt": "releases"
        },
        "pastSimple": "released",
        "pastParticiple": "released",
        "ingForm": "releasing"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to let somebody come out of a place where they have been kept or stuck and unable to leave or move",
            "sensetop": "release somebodyrelease somebody from something",
            "labels": "(figurative)",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to **release a prisoner**",
                    "contextForm": "release somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The hostages were released unharmed."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was **released without charge** after questioning by police."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You will be **released on bail** and a date for your hearing will be set."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to **release** somebody **from prison/jail/hospital**",
                    "contextForm": "release somebody from something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Firefighters took two hours to release the driver from the wreckage."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was later released from police custody."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Death released him from his suffering."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was released on his own recognizance and could face up to four years in jail."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was released from prison last week."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's been three years since he was released from prison."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Several people charged with minor crimes were released without trial."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was released immediately when the soldiers realized their mistake."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was released on bail by the New York police."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The government is insisting that the men are released unconditionally."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The kidnappers have agreed to release the hostages by 12 noon."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They were interrogated before being released."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["quickly", "immediately", "eventually"],
                "preposition": ["from"],
                "phrases": [
                    "newly released",
                    "recently released",
                    "release somebody on bail"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to stop holding something or stop it from being held so that it can move, fly, fall, etc. freely",
            "sensetop": "release somethingrelease something into something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He refused to release her arm.",
                    "contextForm": "release something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Intense heat is released in the reaction."
                },
                {
                    "text": "10 000 balloons were released at the ceremony."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The chemical reaction releases energy in the form of light."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the need to limit the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere",
                    "contextForm": "release something into something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The birds were cleaned and fed and released again into the wild."
                },
                {
                    "text": "How much radiation was released into the air?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The compound slowly releases iron into the bloodstream."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The dam suddenly released millions of gallons of water."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the gases that are released from aerosols"
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "let go, let loose",
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["accidentally", "slowly", "quickly"],
                "preposition": ["from", "into"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to express feelings such as anger or worry in order to get rid of them",
            "sensetop": "release something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She burst into tears, releasing all her pent-up emotions."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She laughed, the tension inside her suddenly released."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to remove something from a fixed position, allowing something else to move or function",
            "sensetop": "release something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to release the clutch/handbrake/switch"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Now release the clutch and move away from the kerb."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "to make information available to the public",
            "sensetop": "release somethingrelease something to somebody",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to **release a statement/report/document/poll/study**",
                    "contextForm": "release something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "to **release figures/results/information/data**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Police have **released** no further **details** about the accident."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The suspect's **name** has not been **released** to the public.",
                    "contextForm": "release something to somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The **newly released** files reveal the extent of his involvement in the scandal."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Details of the attack have not yet been released to the public."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Figures to be officially released this week reveal that long-term unemployment is still rising."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Police have refused to release the name of the dead man."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The committee is expected to release its findings this summer."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The organization has released a report drawing attention to the appalling conditions."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The actual poll was not released to the media."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["officially", "commercially", "publicly"],
                "verb + release": ["refuse to", "be expected to", "plan to"],
                "preposition": ["in", "on", "to"],
                "phrases": [
                    "newly released",
                    "recently released",
                    "originally released"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "to make a film, recording or other product available to the public",
            "sensetop": "release something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He's planning to **release** a solo **album**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to **release a film/video**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They've **released a** new **version** of the original film."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There have been a lot of new products released onto the market."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The series has just recently been **released on DVD**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They have finally released their debut album."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The album was originally released in 1974."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The book has not yet been released in paperback."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The film was never released theatrically in the US."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The new version is expected to be released shortly."
                },
                {
                    "text": "newly released recordings"
                },
                {
                    "text": "When was the film first released?"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Film and theatre", "Music"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 7,
            "definition": "to make something available that had previously been limited",
            "sensetop": "release something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The new building programme will go ahead as soon as the government releases the funds."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 8,
            "definition": "to free somebody from a duty, responsibility, contract, etc.",
            "sensetop": "release somebodyrelease somebody from something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The club is releasing some of its older players.",
                    "contextForm": "release somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The new law released employers from their obligation to recognize unions.",
                    "contextForm": "release somebody from something"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 9,
            "definition": "to make something less tight",
            "sensetop": "release something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "You need to release the tension in these shoulder muscles."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to release a catch/a screw/a nut/the clutch/the brakes"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/rɪˈliːs/",
                "audio": "re/release/release__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/rɪˈliːsɪz/",
                "audio": "re/release/releases__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/rɪˈliːst/",
                "audio": "re/release/released__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/rɪˈliːsɪŋ/",
                "audio": "re/release/releasing__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/rɪˈliːs/",
                "audio": "re/release/release__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/rɪˈliːsɪz/",
                "audio": "re/release/releases__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/rɪˈliːst/",
                "audio": "re/release/released__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/rɪˈliːsɪŋ/",
                "audio": "re/release/releasing__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English: from Old French reles (noun), relesser (verb), from Latin relaxare ‘stretch out again, slacken’, from re- (expressing intensive force) + laxus ‘lax, loose’."
}