cool down

cool someone down and cool someone off 

1. Lit. to cool someone by reducing the heat or applying something cold. Here, have a cold drink. Cool yourself down. The ice finally cooled down the feverish child. We need to cool off the pudding in a hurry.

2. Fig. to reduce someone's anger. (Reducing the "heat" of anger.) I just stared at him while he was yelling. I knew that would cool him down. The coach talked to them for a long time. That cooled them off.

3. Fig. to reduce someone's passion or love. (Reducing the "heat" of passion.) When she slapped him, that really cooled him down. Seeing Mary was too intense, so Bill cooled himself off by breaking it off for a while.

See also: cool

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cool down also cool off

to stop feeling angry After the girls were kept apart for a while, tempers cooled down and the shouting stopped. I was really angry, so I left the house and took a walk to cool off.

See also: cool