calm down — become calm
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To become less upset, angry, or excited.
Say it like a native
Textbook Please compose yourself and try to relax.
Native Just calm down.
'Calm down' is the everyday phrase for settling your emotions; 'compose yourself' is formal.
Pattern: calm down (no object)
In use
- After hearing the bad news, it took me a while to calm down.daily life
- When I feel stressed about exams, I usually take a walk to help myself calm down.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ You need to calm down yourself.
✓ You need to calm down.
When YOU settle, 'calm down' takes no object — 'calm down' alone is far more natural.
Common collocations
calm down— a bit, now, just, everyone
Don't confuse it
This sense is about your own feelings, not about helping someone else.
Related
- calm down (make someone calm) — Another meaning of 'calm down' is 'make someone calm'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.