boil¹

[boil] /bɔɪl/

verb (used without object)

to change from a liquid to a gaseous state, producing bubbles of gas that rise to the surface of the liquid, agitating it as they rise.

to reach or be brought to the boiling point:

When the water boils, add the meat and cabbage.

to be in an agitated or violent state:

The sea boiled in the storm.

to be deeply stirred or upset.

to contain, or be contained in, a liquid that boils:

The kettle is boiling. The vegetables are boiling.

verb (used with object)

to cause to boil or to bring to the boiling point:

Boil two cups of water.

to cook (something) in boiling water:

to boil eggs.

to separate (sugar, salt, etc.) from a solution containing it by boiling off the liquid.

noun

the act or an instance of boiling.

10.

the state or condition of boiling:

He brought a kettle of water to a boil.

11.

an area of agitated, swirling, bubbling water, as part of a rapids.

12.

Also called blow. Civil Engineering. an unwanted flow of water and solid matter into an excavation, due to excessive outside water pressure.

Verb phrases

13.

boil down,

to reduce the quantity of by boiling off liquid.
to shorten; abridge.
to be simplifiable or summarizable as; lead to the conclusion that; point:
It all boils down to a clear case of murder.

14.

boil over,

to overflow while boiling or as if while boiling; burst forth; erupt.
to be unable to repress anger, excitement, etc.:
Any mention of the incident makes her boil over.

Idioms

15.

boil off, Textiles.

to degum (silk).
to remove (sizing, wax, impurities, or the like) from a fabric by subjecting it to a hot scouring solution.

Also, boil out.

Origin

1250-1300; Middle English boillen < Anglo-French, Old French boillir < Latin bullīre to bubble, effervesce, boil, verbal derivative of bulla bubble

Synonyms

3. foam, churn, froth. 4. rage. Boil, seethe, simmer, stew are used figuratively to refer to agitated states of emotion. To boil suggests the state of being very hot with anger or rage: Rage made his blood boil. To seethe is to be deeply stirred, violently agitated, or greatly excited: A mind seething with conflicting ideas. To simmer means to be on the point of bursting out or boiling over: to simmer with curiosity, with anger. To stew is to worry, to be in a restless state of anxiety and excitement: to stew about (or over ) one's troubles.

British Dictionary definitions for boil down

boil down

verb (adverb)

to reduce or be reduced in quantity and usually altered in consistency by boiling: to boil a liquid down to a thick glue

boil down to

(intransitive) to be the essential element in something
(transitive) to summarize; reduce to essentials

boil¹

/bɔɪl/

verb

to change or cause to change from a liquid to a vapour so rapidly that bubbles of vapour are formed copiously in the liquid Compare evaporate

to reach or cause to reach boiling point

to cook or be cooked by the process of boiling

(intransitive) to bubble and be agitated like something boiling; seethe: the ocean was boiling

(intransitive) to be extremely angry or indignant (esp in the phrase make one's blood boil): she was boiling at his dishonesty

(intransitive) to contain a boiling liquid: the pot is boiling

noun

the state or action of boiling (esp in the phrases on the boil, off the boil)

See also boil away, boil down, boil off, boil over, boil up

Derived Forms

boilable, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French boillir, from Latin bullīre to bubble, from bulla a bubble

boil²

/bɔɪl/

noun

a red painful swelling with a hard pus-filled core caused by bacterial infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, esp at a hair follicle Technical name furuncle

Word Origin

Old English bӯle; related to Old Norse beyla swelling, Old High German būlla bladder, Gothic ufbauljan to inflate

Word Origin and History for boil down

boil

early 13c., from Old French bolir "boil, bubble up, ferment, gush" (12c., Modern French bouillir), from Latin bullire "to bubble, seethe," from PIE base *beu- "to swell" (see bull (n.2)). The native word is seethe. Figurative sense of "to agitate the feelings" is from 1640s.

I am impatient, and my blood boyls high. [Thomas Otway, "Alcibiades," 1675]

Related: Boiled; boiling. Boiling point is recorded from 1773.

"hard tumor," altered from Middle English bile (Kentish bele), perhaps by association with the verb; from Old English byl, byle "boil, carbuncle," from West Germanic *buljon- "swelling" (cf. Old Frisian bele, Old High German bulia, German Beule). Perhaps ultimately from PIE root *bhel- (2) "to swell" (see bole), or from *beu- "to grow, swell" (see bull (n.2); also cf. boast). Cf. Old Irish bolach "pustule," Gothic ufbauljan "to puff up," Icelandic beyla "hump."

boil down in Medicine

boil (boil)
n.
A painful, circumscribed pus-filled inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue usually caused by a local staphylococcal infection. Also called furuncle.

boil down in Science

boil

(boil)
To change from a liquid to a gaseous state by being heated to the boiling point and being provided with sufficient energy. Boiling is an example of a phase transition.

Slang definitions & phrases for boil down

boil down

verb phrase

To reduce to the essential elements: It all boils down to who gets there faster (1880+)

boil down in the Bible

(rendered "botch" in Deut. 28:27, 35), an aggravated ulcer, as in the case of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:7; Isa. 38:21) or of the Egyptians (Ex. 9:9, 10, 11; Deut. 28:27, 35). It designates the disease of Job (2:7), which was probably the black leprosy.

Idioms and Phrases with boil down

boil down

Simplify, summarize, or shorten, as in John finally managed to boil his thesis down to 200 pages.

boil down to. Be reducible to basic elements, be equivalent to. For example, What this issue boils down to is that the council doesn't want to spend more money. These metaphoric usages allude to reducing and concentrating a substance by boiling off liquid. [ Late 1800s ]

boil

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