safety valve

noun

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Examples: safety valve in a Sentence

Definition of safety valve

1 : an automatic escape or relief valve (as for a steam boiler)

2 : an outlet for pent-up energy or emotion

3 : something that relieves the pressure of overcrowding

See safety valve defined for English-language learners

See safety valve defined for kids

Examples of safety valve in a Sentence

His hobbies act as a safety valve, relieving some of the pressure he feels from his job.

Recent Examples of safety valve from the Web

Human nature abhors a boss, and politically, democracy serves as a safety valve.

— james stavridis, Time, "Democracy Isn't Perfect, But It Will Still Prevail," 12 July 2018
The federal money also will be spent widening the Sacramento Weir, a mechanism north of the city that acts as a safety valve by channeling flood waters into the Yolo Bypass.

— dale kasler, sacbee, "Trump administration sends Sacramento $1.8 billion for flood protection," 5 July 2018
That approach has become a crucial safety valve for Canada as the number of refugee claimants has doubled over the past year.

— selena ross, Washington Post, "Asylum seekers have flooded into Canada. The government is putting them to work.," 20 May 2018
In the English legal tradition before the framing of the Constitution, kings issued pardons, a necessary safety valve in a legal system with rigid rules and a heavy use of capital punishment.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "The Rule of Law Is Crumbling Further Each Day Under Trump," 10 June 2018
In Stover, Loyola has a reliable safety valve in the cage.

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "Review & preview: Loyola Maryland men’s lacrosse," 8 June 2018
Freshmen Cameron Rising and Casey Thompson received praise, too, though their collective role this offseason is to push the two veterans and serve as a safety valve in case of emergency.

— nick moyle, San Antonio Express-News, "Texas QB competition won’t be settled this spring," 6 Apr. 2018
For some Republicans, standing by while Trump goes after Amazon might just be the perfect safety valve for releasing their own public anger at Silicon Valley.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "Why Conservatives Tolerate Trump’s Crony Capitalism," 30 Mar. 2018
Still, Mr Mubarak allowed some political debate during his 30-year reign, if only as a safety valve.

— The Economist, "Egypt’s sham election features two candidates, but no choice," 22 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'safety valve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of safety valve

1744

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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SAFETY VALVE Defined for English Language Learners

safety valve

noun

Definition of safety valve for English Language Learners

: a part in a machine that opens automatically to release steam, water, gas, etc., when pressure becomes too great
: something that allows someone to release mental stress and tension in a harmless way