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Synonyms

take the edge off

Idioms  

  1. Ease or assuage, make less severe, as in That snack took the edge off our hunger, or Her kind manner took the edge off her refusal. This term alludes to blunting the edge of a cutting instrument. Shakespeare used it figuratively in The Tempest (4:1): “To take away the edge of that day's celebration.” The precise wording of the idiom dates from the first half of the 1900s.

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.

Stellantis tries to take the edge off for workers hoofing it from outer perimeter lots, shuttling them in from some locations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

A decline in inflation expectations tends to be associated with the possibility of a weaker economy, which would theoretically take the edge off price pressures.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 17, 2025

She rode in the motorcade that took Malia and Sasha to school, to take the edge off the trip that involved three cars and at least four armed security agents.

From BBC • May 31, 2024

The textures should be a combination of crunchy and velvety; the flavor, sharp and tangy, with just enough sugar to take the edge off the citrus.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 18, 2023

He wasn’t all that thirsty but he thought the water might help to take the edge off his hunger.

From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

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.