abkühlt

Abkühlt is a conjugated form of the German verb abkühlen, which means to cool down or to become cooler. The basic infinitive is abkühlen, and in standard written German the present tense for the third person singular is typically written as er kühlt ab. The word conveys a decrease in temperature or a reduction in activity, intensity, or emotion, depending on the context.

Abkühlen is a separable-prefix verb. The prefix ab- indicates movement away from a heat source or from a heated state. Etymologically, it combines ab- with kühlen (to cool). In many everyday and technical contexts, the action is described by the separated form, as in er kühlt ab, while the root meaning remains clear: to cool down.

Common contexts for abkühlen include cooking and science. For example, der Tee kühlt ab (the tea cools down) or lassen Sie die Suppe abkühlen before serving. In physics and engineering, objects cool down when they lose heat to their surroundings, a process that depends on factors such as surface area, material properties, and ambient temperature. Metaphorically, abkühlen can describe a decrease in emotional intensity or agitation, such as after excitement or a heated debate.

Related terms include die Abkühlung (the cooling, cooling-off) and abgekühlt (the past participle, meaning cooled down). The antonyms are verbs meaning to heat up, such as erhitzen or aufheizen. Abkühlen is a common concept across everyday language and technical discourse.