pipe down

Meanings

1. 1phrasephrasal verbinformal

   To stop talking or making noise, especially when told to do so.

   Grammar: No object; often an order: Pipe down! The parts can't be split.

   Patterns

   • tell someone to pipe down
   • pipe down about something

   Could you kids pipe down? I'm trying to read.

   The teacher asked the class to pipe down before the assembly.

   He wouldn't pipe down about his holiday, even when we changed the subject.

2. 2phrasephrasal verbinformal

   To become quieter or calmer after a period of noise, excitement or complaint.

   Grammar: No object; describes a gradual change: the noise piped down.

   Patterns

   • things pipe down

   After midnight the party finally piped down.

   The crowd piped down when the music started.

   Once the argument was settled, everyone piped down and went back to work.

Word forms

Common combinations

tell someone to pipe down

I had to tell the neighbours to pipe down at midnight.

pipe down, please

Pipe down, please, the baby is finally asleep.

finally pipe down

The crowd finally piped down when the speaker raised his hand.

pipe down a bit

Could you pipe down a bit? I'm on a call.

Synonyms and how they differ

be quiet

Be quiet is neutral and polite enough for most settings, while pipe down sounds more casual and a little blunt.

shut up

Shut up is much ruder and can start an argument, whereas pipe down is milder and sometimes friendly.

hush

Hush is gentle and often said to children or in a soothing way, unlike the sharper pipe down.

quieten down

Quieten down describes a group growing quieter on its own and sounds more neutral than pipe down.

Opposites

Word family

pipe verb

to speak or sing in a high shrill voice, as in 'pipe up'

pipe up phrase

to start speaking suddenly, usually to add something

Commonly confused: pipe down or pipe up?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pipe down”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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