cool down
Idioms-
Also, cool off.
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Effect a lower temperature, especially of the body following vigorous exercise. For example, After a race the coach makes the entire team do stretches to cool down , or Let's take a dip to cool off . These phrases date from a.d. 1000 with reference to the weather or cooking (as in First let the eggs cool off ). The first gained renewed currency with the exercise boom of the late 1900s.
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See cool off , def. 2.
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.
As Europe seeks ways to cool down in punishing temperatures, there's no way that Alexandre Anoh is going to sleep without air conditioning in Abidjan's stifling heat.
From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026
Gordon Cooper, 73, from High Wycombe, told BBC Your Voice that he hangs a wet bath towel in his bedroom and places his fan nearby to help cool down the room.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
During nights when "you can't get any relief, and your body can't cool down, that becomes very dangerous for people's health, particularly for vulnerable people", Emerton said.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
After Iran’s first match, the players had been rushed out so quickly that they hardly had time to cool down.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
When it gets too hot we like to slide into the water to cool down.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
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.
