English Reference
Idiom idiom

hose down

Meaning

To calm down a person, or a situation.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples
SIMPLE

“The manager had to hose down the angry customer.”

CONTEXTUAL

“After the argument became too heated, the mediator stepped in to hose down the situation.”

COMPLEX

“The diplomat worked tirelessly to hose down the rising tensions between the two nations before the conflict escalated further.”

Anchors to
Related idioms2entries
  1. 01

    fire hose

    Any fast, heavy stream (e.g. of information).

  2. 02

    rubber hose

    A classic animated cartoon style which was first introduced in the early 20th century.

Last updated August 10, 2026