idiom · informal
let off steam
UK/lɛt ɒf stiːm/US/lɛt ɔːf stiːm/let·OFF·STEAM
speakingtask2
to release strong emotions or excess energy
Examples
“He goes for a run to let off steam after a stressful day.”
“They played football to let off steam after exams.”
“Sometimes you just need to shout to let off steam.”
Band 8 sentence
“After a tense meeting, she took a brisk walk to let off steam before replying to emails.”
Collocations
- let off steam by doing something
- need to let off steam
Word family
blow off steam idiomvent verb
Common mistakes
let out steam→let off steam
release steam→let off steam
Say it for a higher band
5relax→6vent→7+let off steam
Synonyms
blow off steam
vent
Easily confused
blow off steam
“He went to the gym to blow off steam after work.”
Related words
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In Emotions
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