ease off
Idioms-
Also, ease up . Lessen in severity, relax; abate. For example, I wish you'd ease off on Harold; he's doing the best he can , or The wind's eased up so I think the storm is just about over . [Late 1800s] Also see let up .
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Fall away, gradually decrease, as in The market's easing off, so we may get some stocks more cheaply . [Late 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.
The film has a propulsive rhythm to it, a relentlessness, even as Wilde and editors Yorgos Mavropsaridis and Anthony Boys know when to ease off the throttle and take it easy for a bit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Should the world ease off on its purchases, that could pull the rug out from under China’s economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Conditions at sea are expected to ease off later as sailors race down the east coast before tackling the treacherous Bass Strait crossing to Tasmania.
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
At the same time central banks would ease off their buying spree, while other short-term pressures stimulating demand would subside, bringing prices down.
From BBC ● May 12, 2025
When a rider wanted Seabiscuit to speed up, he would swing him toward the rail; when he wanted him to ease off, he’d nudge him to the outside.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
