# releasing

/ɹiˈɫisɪŋ/ (US) · /ɹɪlˈiːsɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/releasing
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. letting go or setting free

verb · CEFR B1

letting something go from your hand or allowing a person or animal to go free.

For teachers: the act of setting someone or something free from physical or legal restraint.

- The scientist was releasing the bird back into the wild after checking its health.
- Releasing the prisoners was a key condition of the peace treaty, intended to signal a genuine commitment to ending the conflict.

Usage: often used with a direct object representing the person or thing being freed.

### 2. making a product available

verb · CEFR B1

making a new film, song, book, or piece of news available for the public to see or buy.

For teachers: the process of making information or a commercial product available for public consumption or sale.

- The studio is releasing the new superhero movie in cinemas this Friday.
- By releasing the quarterly earnings report ahead of schedule, the company managed to stabilise its stock price before the weekend.

Usage: frequently used in business and media contexts.

### 3. the act of letting go

noun · CEFR B2

the action of letting something go or making it available.

For teachers: the action or process of liberating something or making a formal announcement.

- The releasing of the balloons into the sky was the highlight of the festival.
- The sudden releasing of the pressure valve prevented what could have been a catastrophic failure of the entire cooling system.

Usage: functions as a gerund or verbal noun.

Teaching tip: Learners often confuse the noun 'release' with the gerund 'releasing'; use 'releasing' when focusing on the ongoing action.

## Examples

- The studio is releasing the new movie this Friday.
- After years of research, the government is finally releasing the data to the public.
- By releasing the pressure valve slowly, the technician prevented a catastrophic failure of the cooling system during the emergency shutdown procedure.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.