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Synonyms

blow off steam

Idioms  

  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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025

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.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2025

Maybe you're angry for some *waves hands* reason, and need to blow off steam with some shoot-'em-up action or dissociate from your everyday reality.

From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2024

Some people blow off steam by yelling at their television screens.

From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2024

He knew that sometimes she just needed to blow off steam, and he let her.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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