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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.

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

Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

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.