relief valve

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The previous Sunday, it unveiled an emergency lending program meant to serve as a relief valve for banks that need to raise cash.

From New York Times

There’s no doubt drug courts work, though, in the sense that many defendants use them as a relief valve to get treatment and to clear their records.

From Seattle Times

The cap is meant to provide a relief valve to Western bans on Russian oil exports.

From Reuters

The tunnel provided a relief valve for stadium events, and to escape Interstate 5 congestion during weekend road repairs.

From Seattle Times

The initiative was once a populist relief valve, so that hacked-off citizens could take their ideas around the stranglehold of the powerful and straight to the people.

From Seattle Times