safety valve

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noun
  1. a device that, when actuated by a gas or vapor pressure above a predetermined level, opens and allows the gas or vapor to escape until its pressure is reduced to a pressure equal to or below that of the predetermined level.: Compare relief valve.

  2. a harmless outlet for emotion, tension, etc.

Origin of safety valve

1
First recorded in 1805–15

Words Nearby safety valve

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use safety valve in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for safety valve

safety valve

noun
  1. a valve in a pressure vessel that allows fluid to escape when a predetermined level of pressure has been reached

  2. a harmless outlet for emotion, energy, tension, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012