released

Released is the past tense and past participle of the verb release, a term with broad use in English. The core meaning is to set someone or something free from confinement, restraint, or obligation, or to let something become available or depart. In this sense, a prisoner might be released from custody, a worker released from duty, or a planet’s atmosphere released into space. It can also describe the act of letting go of an attachment or holding pattern.

A second major sense concerns dissemination or public availability. In media and technology, release refers to making information, products, or works available to the public. Examples include a film release, a software release or version, and a press release. Release dates, release windows, and release notes are common terms used to describe timing and changes associated with bringing something to market or to the public.

In pharmacology and physiology, release describes the process by which a substance becomes available for action, such as a drug being released from a dosage form or neurotransmitters released at a synapse. Pharmaceuticals employ terms like immediate-release and extended-release to describe how quickly the active ingredient is made available in the body.

Etymology traces released to Old French releaser, from Latin laxare meaning to loosen, with the re- prefix indicating release back or again. The word has thus evolved to cover both liberating actions and the public dissemination of information, media, and products.