Word.ws English Dictionary

take the edge off

take the edge off verb: to diminish the effects of (something unpleasant or severe); to dull.

Verb

take the edge off (third-person singular simple present takes the edge off, present participle taking the edge off, simple past took the edge off, past participle taken the edge off)

  1. To diminish the effects of (something unpleasant or severe); to dull.
    • Allen Gregory DeLongpre: You know what? Let's forget all the mishegoss and try to enjoy our lunch, huh? Take the edge off.2011 Allen Gregory, "Pilot" (season 1, episode 1)
    • She knew better than to drink from the bar, but she'd been so thirsty, and she needed something to take the edge off.2011, Allison Brennan, Kiss Me, Kill Me: A Novel of Suspense, page 1
  2. To relax or unwind (by consuming alcohol or other psychoactive substances).

Forms of take the edge off

third-person singular presenttakes the edge off
present participletaking the edge off
pasttook the edge off
past participletaken the edge off

Questions about take the edge off

What does take the edge off mean?
Take the edge off means to diminish the effects of (something unpleasant or severe); to dull.
What part of speech is take the edge off?
Take the edge off is a verb.
What is the past tense of take the edge off?
The past tense of take the edge off is took the edge off.

Words near take the edge off in the dictionary

  1. take the count
  2. take the coward's way out
  3. take the cross
  4. take the cure
  5. take the easy way out
  6. take the edge off
  7. take the fall
  8. take the field
  9. take the fifth
  10. take the flak
  11. take the floor

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: take the edge off (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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