safety valve
Americannoun
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a device that, when actuated by a gas or vapor pressure above a predetermined level, opens and allows the gas or vapor to escape until its pressure is reduced to a pressure equal to or below that of the predetermined level.
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a harmless outlet for emotion, tension, etc.
noun
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a valve in a pressure vessel that allows fluid to escape when a predetermined level of pressure has been reached
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a harmless outlet for emotion, energy, tension, etc
Etymology
Origin of safety valve
First recorded in 1805–15
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 port of Yanbu has emerged as a vital safety valve for Saudi crude, allowing Riyadh to bypass the paralyzed Strait of Hormuz by piping oil via its East-West pipeline.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
It is an essential safety valve that remains "effective only if the conflict doesn't last too long", cautioned Perrin.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
Elon Musk thinks humankind’s only safety valve is to move multitudes to Mars.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2025
The whole point of doing a convention is to have a safety valve for something like this.
From Slate • Jul. 22, 2024
When pressure in the reactor gets too high, a safety valve opens and allows steam to escape into the torus, where it condenses back into water.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
