Calm down means to become calm, or to make someone calm. It is used about a person after worry, anger or panic, and also about a situation that becomes quieter: things calm down after the holidays.
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calm down; calm + person + down; things/the situation + calm down
- I took a few deep breaths to calm down before the speaking test.
- The teacher played quiet music to calm the children down after the break.
- It's busy at work now, but things should calm down after the conference.
What changed
First versionMy daughter was crying, so I sang a song to calm down her.
RevisionMy daughter was crying, so I sang a song to calm her down.
When the person is a pronoun (her, him, them), it goes between calm and down: calm her down. The order calm down her sounds wrong. With a noun, both orders are possible: calm the baby down and calm down the baby.
Relax is close in meaning, but it is more about resting and letting go of tension: I relax with a book on Sundays. Calm down is used when there was worry or anger before and the person needs to get back to normal.
Your turn
Max was so angry that he was shouting, so I asked him to sit down and ___.
Show the answer
calm down — Max is angry and shouting, so he needs to become calm: calm down. Cheer up is said to someone who is sad, to help them feel happier, and Max's problem is not sadness.
Think of a moment when you were very nervous, for example before an exam or a talk. Write what helped you feel calm again.
Before my first presentation at work, my hands were shaking, so I drank some water and repeated my first line to calm down.
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