blow off steam

1. Also, let off steam. Air or relieve one's pent-up feelings by loud talk or vigorous activity. For example, Joan's shouting did not mean she was angry at you; she was just blowing off steam, or After spending the day on very exacting work, Tom blew off steam by going for a long run. This metaphoric term refers to easing the pressure in a steam engine. [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

“Oh, I doubt I’m cured! Next full moon will tell. But I learned something important, thanks to my little instructor over there. The truth is, I don’t mind the howling. It’s nice to blow off steam, so to speak. And I’m used to it, too. I might even miss it if it stopped.”

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He said writing in this book could be my way to blow off steam.

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When I need to blow off steam, I like to go for a bike ride.

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In 2008, a group of scantily clad Chapman University students frolicked in the water fixture during the college’s biannual Undie Run, a tradition where students strip off their clothes and run through downtown to blow off steam during finals week.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Though Santi likes to hit, perhaps just to blow off steam, he has become alienated from the game and resistant to advice — for reasons we will learn, besides the usual teenage anomie.

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Related Words

• honor 
• laud 
• observe 
• perform 
• praise 
• proclaim 
• revere