let off steam

noun

1. water in the form of an invisible gas or vapor.
2. water changed to this form by boiling, extensively used for the generation of mechanical power, for heating purposes, etc.
3. the mist formed when the gas or vapor from boiling water condenses in the air.
4. an exhalation of a vapor or mist.
5. Informal. power or energy.

verb (used without object)

6. to emit or give off steam or vapor.
7. to rise or pass off in the form of steam or vapor.
8. to become covered with condensed steam, as a window or other surface (often followed by up).
9. to generate or produce steam, as in a boiler.
10. to move or travel by the agency of steam.
11. to move rapidly or evenly: He steamed out of the room.
12. Informal. to be angry or show anger: Fans are still steaming from Monday night’s sloppy 5-4 loss.

verb (used with object)

13. to expose to or treat with steam, as in order to heat, cook, soften, renovate, or the like.
14. to emit or exhale (steam or vapor).
15. Informal. to cause to become irked or angry (often followed by up).
16. to convey by the agency of steam: to steam the ship safely into port.

adjective

17. heated by or heating with steam: a steam radiator.
18. propelled by or propelling with a steam engine.
19. operated by steam.
20. conducting steam: a steam line.
21. bathed with or affected by steam.
22. of or relating to steam.

Idioms

23. blow/let off steam, Informal. to give vent to one’s repressed emotions, especially by talking or behaving in an unrestrained manner: Don’t take her remarks too seriously—she was just blowing off steam.

verb (used without object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

1. (of the wind or air) to be in motion.
2. to move along, carried by or as by the wind: Dust seemed to blow through every crack in the house.
3. to produce or emit a current of air, as with the mouth or a bellows: Blow on your hands to warm them.
4. (of a horn, trumpet, etc.) to give out sound.
5. to make a blowing sound; whistle: The siren blew just as we rounded the corner.
6. (of horses) to breathe hard or quickly; pant.
7. Informal. to boast; brag: He kept blowing about his medals.
8. Zoology. (of a whale) to spout.
9. (of a fuse, light bulb, vacuum tube, tire, etc.) to burst, melt, stop functioning, or be destroyed by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed by out): A fuse blew just as we sat down to dinner. The rear tire blew out.
10. to burst from internal pressure: Poorly sealed cans will often blow.
11. Slang. to leave; depart.

verb (used with object), blew, blown, blow·ing.

12. to drive by means of a current of air: A sudden breeze blew the smoke into the house.
13. to spread or make widely known: Growing panic blew the rumor about.
14. to drive a current of air upon.
15. to clear or empty by forcing air through: Try blowing your nose.
16. to shape (glass, smoke, etc.) with a current of air: to blow smoke rings.
17. to cause to sound, as by a current of air: Blow your horn at the next crossing.
18. Jazz. to play (a musical instrument of any kind).
19. to cause to explode (often followed by up, to bits, etc.): A mine blew the ship to bits.
20. to burst, melt, burn out, or destroy by exploding, overloading, etc. (often followed by out): to blow a tire; blow a fuse.
21. to destroy; demolish (usually followed by down, over, etc.): The windstorm blew down his house.
22. Informal.
    1. to spend money on.
    2. to squander; spend quickly: He blew a fortune on racing cars.
    3. to waste; lose: The team blew the lead by making a bad play.
23. Informal. to mishandle, ruin, botch; make a mess of; bungle: With one stupid mistake he blew the whole project. It was your last chance and you blew it!
24. Slang. to damn: Blow the cost!
25. to put (a horse) out of breath by fatigue.
26. Slang. to depart from: to blow town.
27. Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on.
28. Slang. to smoke (marijuana or other drugs).

noun

29. a blast of air or wind: to clean machinery with a blow.
30. Informal. a violent windstorm, gale, hurricane, or the like: one of the worst blows we ever had around here.
31. an act of producing a blast of air, as in playing a wind instrument: a few discordant blows by the bugler.
32. Metallurgy.
    1. a blast of air forced through a converter, as in the production of steel or copper.
    2. the stage of the production process during which this blast is used.
33. Civil Engineering. boil1(def 12).
34. Slang. cocaine.

Verb Phrases

35. blow away, Slang.
    1. to kill, especially by gunfire: The gang threatened to blow away anyone who talked to the police.
    2. to defeat decisively; trounce: She blew her opponent away in three straight sets.
    3. to overwhelm with emotion, astonishment, etc.: Good poetry just blows me away.
36. blow down, Metallurgy. to suspend working of (a blast furnace) by smelting the existing charge with a diminishing blast.
37. blow in,
    1. Slang.to arrive at a place, especially unexpectedly: My uncle just blew in from Sacramento.
    2. Metallurgy.to begin operations in (a blast furnace).
38. blow off,
    1. to allow steam to be released.
    2. Informal.to reduce or release tension, as by loud talking.
    3. Informal.to ignore, evade, or treat as unimportant: I mentioned his insulting remark, and he just blew the whole thing off.
    4. Informal.to not go to or participate in: He blew off his first-period class three times that week.
    5. Informal.to fail to meet (someone) as planned without alerting the person beforehand: I waited 20 minutes before I realized my sister had blown me off.
    6. Informal.to end a romantic or other relationship with: He blew me off after our third date.
39. blow out,
    1. to become extinguished: The candles blew out at once.
    2. to lose force or cease: The storm has blown itself out.
    3. (of an oil or gas well) to lose oil or gas uncontrollably.
    4. Metallurgy.to blow down and clean (a blast furnace) in order to shut down.
40. blow over,
    1. to pass away; subside: The storm blew over in five minutes.
    2. to be forgotten: The scandal will eventually blow over.
41. blow up,
    1. to come into being: A storm suddenly blew up.
    2. to explode: The ship blew up.
    3. to cause to explode: to blow up a bridge.
    4. to exaggerate; enlarge: He blew up his own role in his account of the project.
    5. Informal.to lose one’s temper: When he heard she had quit school, he blew up.
    6. to fill with air; inflate: to blow up a tire.
    7. Photography.to make an enlarged reproduction of.
    8. Mathematics.(of a function) to become infinite.

Idioms

42. blow hot and cold, to favor something at first and reject it later on; waver; vacillate: His enthusiasm for the job blows hot and cold.
43. blow off steam, Informal. steam(def 23).Also let off steam.
44. blow one’s cool, Slang. to lose one’s composure; become angry, frantic, or flustered.
45. blow one’s cover. cover(def 52).
46. blow one’s lines, Theater. to forget or make an error in a speaking part or stage directions.
47. blow one’s mind. mind(def 36).
48. blow one’s stack. stack(def 23).
49. blow one’s top. top1(def 43).

verb blows, blowing, blew or blown

1. (of a current of air, the wind, etc) to be or cause to be in motion
2. (intr) to move or be carried by or as if by wind or aira feather blew in through the window
3. to expel (air, cigarette smoke, etc) through the mouth or nose
4. to force or cause (air, dust, etc) to move (into, in, over, etc) by using an instrument or by expelling breath
5. (intr) to breathe hard; pant
6. (sometimes foll by up) to inflate with air or the breath
7. (intr) (of wind, a storm, etc) to make a roaring or whistling sound
8. to cause (a whistle, siren, etc) to sound by forcing air into it, as a signal, or (of a whistle, etc) to sound thus
9. (tr) to force air from the lungs through (the nose) to clear out mucus or obstructing matter
10. (often foll by up, down, in, etc) to explode, break, or disintegrate completelythe bridge blew down in the gale
11. electronics to burn out (a fuse, valve, etc) because of excessive current or (of a fuse, valve, etc) to burn out
12. blow a fuse slang to lose one’s temper
13. (intr) (of a whale) to spout water or air from the lungs
14. (tr) to wind (a horse) by making it run excessively
15. to cause (a wind instrument) to sound by forcing one’s breath into the mouthpiece, or (of such an instrument) to sound in this way
16. (intr) jazz slang to play in a jam session
17. (intr) (of flies) to lay eggs (in)
18. to shape (glass, ornaments, etc) by forcing air or gas through the material when molten
19. (intr) mainly Scot, Australian and NZ to boast or brag
20. (tr) slang
    1. to spend (money) freely
    2. USto treat or entertain
21. (tr) slang to use (an opportunity) ineffectively
22. slang to go suddenly away (from)
23. (tr) slang to expose or betray (a person or thing meant to be kept secret)
24. (tr) US slang to inhale (a drug)
25. (intr) slang to masturbate
26. past participle blowed informal another word for damn I’ll be blowed; blow it!
27. draughts another word for huff (def. 4)
28. blow hot and cold to vacillate
29. blow a kiss or blow kisses to kiss one’s hand, then blow across it as if to carry the kiss through the air to another person
30. blow one’s own trumpet to boast of one’s own skills or good qualities
31. blow someone’s mind slang
    1. (of a drug, esp LSD) to alter someone’s mental state
    2. esp US and Canadianto astound or surprise someone
32. blow one’s top, esp US and Canadian blow one’s stack or blow one’s lid informal to lose one’s temper

noun

33. the act or an instance of blowing
34. the sound produced by blowing
35. a blast of air or wind
36. metallurgy
    1. a stage in the Bessemer process in which air is blasted upwards through molten pig iron
    2. the quantity of metal treated in a Bessemer converter
37. mining
    1. a rush of air into a mine
    2. the collapse of a mine roof
38. jazz slang a jam session
39. 1. British a slang name for cannabis (def. 2)
    2. US a slang name for cocaine

noun

1. a powerful or heavy stroke with the fist, a weapon, etc
2. at one blow or at a blow by or with only one action; all at one time
3. a sudden setback; unfortunate eventto come as a blow
4. come to blows
   1. to fight
   2. to result in a fight
5. an attacking actiona blow for freedom
6. Australian and NZ a stroke of the shears in sheep-shearing

verb blows, blowing, blew or blown

1. (intr) (of a plant or flower) to blossom or open out
2. (tr) to produce (flowers)

noun

3. a mass of blossoms
4. the state or period of blossoming (esp in the phrase in full blow)

noun

1. the gas or vapour into which water is changed when boiled
2. the mist formed when such gas or vapour condenses in the atmosphere
3. any vaporous exhalation
4. informal power, energy, or speed
5. get up steam
   1. (of a ship, etc) to work up a sufficient head of steam in a boiler to drive an engine
   2. informalto go quickly
6. let off steam informal to release pent-up energy or emotions
7. under one’s own steam without the assistance of others
8. Australian slang cheap wine
9. (modifier) driven, operated, heated, powered, etc, by steama steam radiator
10. (modifier) treated by steamsteam ironed; steam cleaning
11. (modifier) jocular old-fashioned; outmodedsteam radio

verb

12. to emit or be emitted as steam
13. (intr) to generate steam, as a boiler, etc
14. (intr) to move or travel by steam power, as a ship, etc
15. (intr) informal to proceed quickly and sometimes forcefully
16. to cook or be cooked in steam
17. (tr) to treat with steam or apply steam to, as in cleaning, pressing clothes, etc

v.1“move air,” Old English blawan “blow, breathe, make an air current; kindle; inflate; sound a wind instrument” (class VII strong verb; past tense bleow, past participle blawen), from Proto-Germanic *blæ-anan (cf. Old High German blaen, German blähen), from PIE *bhle- “to swell, blow up” (cf. Latin flare “to blow”), possibly identical with *bhel- (2) “to blow, swell” (see bole). Meaning “to squander” (of money) is from 1874. Sense of “depart suddenly” is from 1902. Slang “do fellatio on” sense is from 1933, as blow (someone) off, originally among prostitutes (cf. blow job). This usage probably is not connected to the colloquial imprecation (1781, associated with sailors, e.g. Popeye’s “well, blow me down!”), which has past participle blowed. Meaning “to spend (money) foolishly and all at once” is 1890s; that of “bungle an opportunity” is from 1943. To blow over “pass” is from 1610s, originally of storms. To blow (someone’s) mind was in use by 1967; there is a song title “Blow Your Mind” released in a 1965 Mirawood recording by a group called The Gas Company. v.2“to bloom, blossom” (intransitive), from Old English blowan “to flower, blossom, flourish,” from Proto-Germanic *blæ- (cf. Old Saxon bloian, Old Frisian bloia, Middle Dutch and Dutch bloeien, Old High German bluoen, German blühen), from PIE *bhle-, extended form of *bhel- (2) “to blow, inflate, swell” (see bole). This word is the source of the blown in full-blown. n.1“hard hit,” mid-15c., blowe, from northern and East Midlands dialects, perhaps from Middle Dutch blouwen “to beat,” a common Germanic word of unknown origin (cf. German bleuen, Gothic bliggwan “to strike”). Influenced in English by blow (v.1). In reference to descriptions or accounts, blow-by-blow is recorded from 1921, American English, originally of prize-fight broadcasts. LIKE a hungry kitten loves its saucer of warm milk, so do radio fans joyfully listen to the blow-by-blow broadcast description of a boxing bout. [“The Wireless Age,” December 1922] n.Old English steam “vapor, fume,” from Proto-Germanic *staumaz (cf. Dutch stoom), of unknown origin. Steam age first attested 1941. Steam heat as a method of temperature control recorded from 1904. n.2“a blowing, a blast,” 1650s, from blow (v.1). v.Old English stemen, stymen “to emit a scent or odor,” from the root of steam (n.). Slang meaning “to make angry” is from 1922. Related: Steamed; steaming.

1. Water in its gaseous state, especially at a temperature above the boiling point of water (above 100°C, or 212°F, at sea level). See Note at vapor.
2. A mist of condensed water vapor.

see blow off steam. In addition to the idioms beginning with blow

blow a fuse

blow away

blow by blow

blow hot and cold

blow in

blow it

blow off

blow off steam

blow one’s brains out

blow one’s cool

blow one’s cover

blow one’s mind

blow one’s own horn

blow one’s top

blow out

blow over

blow sky-high

blow someone to

blow the lid off

blow the whistle on

blow up

also see:

at one stroke (blow)

body blow

come to blows

keep (blow) one’s cool

low blow

way the wind blows

see blow off steam; full speed (steam) ahead; get up steam; run out of steam; under one’s own steam.