cool down

1. See cool off , def. 2.

2. Effect a lower temperature, especially of the body following vigorous exercise. For example, After a race the coach makes the entire team do stretches to cool down , or Let's take a dip to cool off . These phrases date from a.d. 1000 with reference to the weather or cooking (as in First let the eggs cool off ). The first gained renewed currency with the exercise boom of the late 1900s.

Idioms and Phrases

Also, cool off .

Example Sentences

The weather will start to cool down on Saturday as a cold front pushes southwards, with the air turning progressively colder into next week as an Arctic air mass becomes established.

From BBC

Finneas remembers telling the TSA story to singer John Mayer, who tried to assure him that he and Eilish were “fresh out of the furnace” and that the situation would cool down sooner or later.

From Los Angeles Times

He suggests riding a stationary bike, at a low intensity, for 5 or 10 minutes to warm up and doing a few walking laps around the gym, until your heart rate slows, to cool down.

From Los Angeles Times

The company pegs its water usage at around 10 percent of the industry average, and in temperate locations such as Sweden, it doesn’t use any water to cool down data centers except during peak summer temperatures.

From Salon

By Sunday and Monday, it’s expected to cool down another 2 to 4 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• curb
• decrease
• define
• diminish
• hamper
• impede
• inhibit
• limit
• narrow
• reduce
• regulate
• restrain
• shorten