Idiom
blow off steam
Meaning
To vent; to talk or take action (especially in a ranting or unrestrained way) so as to relieve stress.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He goes to the gym to blow off steam after work.”
“I play loud music to blow off steam when I am stressed.”
“After a frustrating meeting, she called her friend to blow off steam and complain for a while.”
“We usually go to the karaoke bar on Friday nights to blow off steam after a long week at the office.”
“The players were shouting in the locker room to blow off steam because they were disappointed about losing the championship game.”
“Rather than bottle up his anger, the exhausted teacher went for a long run to blow off steam before facing his students again.”
Examples
simple
“He goes to the gym to blow off steam after work.”
“I play loud music to blow off steam when I am stressed.”
contextual
“After a frustrating meeting, she called her friend to blow off steam and complain for a while.”
“We usually go to the karaoke bar on Friday nights to blow off steam after a long week at the office.”
“The players were shouting in the locker room to blow off steam because they were disappointed about losing the championship game.”
complex
“Rather than bottle up his anger, the exhausted teacher went for a long run to blow off steam before facing his students again.”
Origin
The expression originates from the mechanical necessity of the steam engine, specifically the function of the relief valve. When the pressure within a boiler reached a level that threatened a structural explosion, the valve allowed the excess to escape into the atmosphere. The term describes this release of force, which prevented the total destruction of the engine by way of a controlled discharge.
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated