Get it out of your system

Idioms | C1

Examples and explanation

If you get something out of your system, you release or get rid of a negative feeling (e.g. anger, stress, anxiety) by expressing the feeling (e.g. by shouting at someone or talking to someone about whatever is worrying you). e.g. I decided to tell my boss exactly what I thought of him. To be honest, it felt great to finally get it out of my system.

You might also really want or desire to do something, and by doing it, you get rid of the desire and don’t want to do it anymore – you get it out of your system.

For example, a friend of mine had always planned to go travelling around the world after university. For various reasons, his plans changed and he started his career instead. The desire to go travelling was still there though, and over the years it started to become a distraction and a source of unhappiness. In the end, he decided that he needed to take a year off work and go travelling in order to get it out of his system.

You can also use this expression more literally or physically, to talk about something leaving your bodily system. e.g. Have you thought about doing a week of detox? Apparently it can be a good way of getting harmful substances out of your system.

Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?

Accent: Northern England