let off steam
IdiomsExample 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 tech professional is a member of Jakarta's "Playing Community", a group that gathers after work every Friday to let off steam in ways not usually associated with grown-ups.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
There were corrugated aluminum chutes down the mountainside to channel water, and I joked that they were water slides for predators to let off steam between kills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2024
Millions of domestic visitors have descended on the previously little-known city in Shandong province, lured by influencers and a chance to let off steam after crippling lockdowns.
From BBC ● May 14, 2023
A street full of 1980s-era cabarets and restaurants is a snapshot of a more prosperous time when young fishermen gathered to let off steam and spend big paychecks.
From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2023
On Libra, if people felt hostile, they would be urged to put their energies into athletic contests or other competitive events, or simply to let off steam by going flying.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
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.
