boil
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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boils,
present (3rd person singular)
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boiled,
past participle, past
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boiling
present participle
-
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.
Water boils at 100°C.
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to reach or be brought to the boiling point.
When the water boils, add the meat and cabbage.
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to be in an agitated or violent state.
The sea boiled in the storm.
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to be deeply stirred or upset.
I didn’t dare open my mouth, as I was boiling with rage.
- Synonyms:
- rage
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to contain, or be contained in, a liquid that boils.
The kettle is boiling.
The vegetables are boiling.
verb (used with object)
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boils,
present (3rd person singular)
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boiled,
past participle, past
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boiling
present participle
-
to cause to boil or to bring to the boiling point.
Boil two cups of water.
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to cook (something) in boiling water.
Don’t boil the eggs too long if you want soft yolks.
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to separate (sugar, salt, etc.) from a solution containing it by boiling off the liquid.
A basic candy can be made by simply boiling sugar in a pan.
noun
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the act, state, or condition of boiling.
He brought a kettle of water to a boil.
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a social event at which food is cooked in boiling water.
We celebrated harvest and the end of summer with a corn boil in the backyard.
A jam-packed frosh week kicks off with a crawfish boil and outdoor concert.
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an area of agitated, swirling, bubbling water, such as part of a rapids.
My flashlight beam shone on the boil of the river as it beat against the bridge’s foundations.
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Also called blow. Civil Engineering. an unwanted flow of water and solid matter into an excavation, due to excessive outside water pressure.
verb phrase
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boil over
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to overflow while boiling or as if while boiling; burst forth; erupt.
Your soup boiled over and made a mess on the stove.
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to be unable to suppress anger, excitement, etc..
Any mention of the incident makes her boil over.
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boil out
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to clear deposits of calcium, minerals, etc., from (a vehicle’s radiator) by immersing it in boiling water for a time.
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to eliminate by or as if by boiling.
Unlike the germs in your drinking water, lead can't be boiled out.
The events in the stories have had most of their specialness boiled out by decades of repetition.
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boil down
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to reduce the quantity of by boiling off liquid.
Boil the sauce down till it just covers the cutlets.
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to shorten; abridge.
I think you could boil this lengthy essay down to a couple of pages.
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to be simplifiable or summarizable as; lead to the conclusion that; point.
It all boils down to a basic lack of respect for their employees.
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boil off Also boil out
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to remove or be removed by evaporation, as through boiling.
The alcohol in this rum cake boils off in baking.
Maple syrup is made by boiling off the excess water from the sap.
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to degum (silk).
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to remove (sizing, wax, impurities, or the like) from a fabric by subjecting it to a hot scouring solution.
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noun
verb
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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
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to reach or cause to reach boiling point
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to cook or be cooked by the process of boiling
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(intr) to bubble and be agitated like something boiling; seethe
the ocean was boiling
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(intr) to be extremely angry or indignant (esp in the phrase make one's blood boil )
she was boiling at his dishonesty
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(intr) to contain a boiling liquid
the pot is boiling
noun
noun
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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boilsimple
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boilssimple
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have boiledperfect
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has boiledperfect
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am boilingprogressive
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are boilingprogressive
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is boilingprogressive
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have been boilingperfect progressive
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has been boilingperfect progressive
Past
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boiledsimple
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had boiledperfect
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was boilingprogressive
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were boilingprogressive
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had been boilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of boil1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English boillen, boil(e), buile(n), from Old French boillir, buil(l)ir, from Latin bullīre “to bubble, effervesce, boil,” verb derivative of noun bulla “bubble”
Origin of boil2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bil(e), bul(e), bel(e), Old English bȳle; cognate with German Beule “boil, hump,” akin to Old Norse beyla “hump, swelling”
Explanation
If you heat water to 212° Fahrenheit, then expect to see it boil — bubbling as it turns from a liquid to a vapor. It's what a watched pot never seems to do! If the water is bubbling and roiling, then it's probably boiling. Cooks boil stuff all the time on the stove; geysers and hot springs boil naturally. And if you spill boiled red cabbage on the new white couch, mom's temper might just boil over. So you see boil can be used both literally and figuratively — to depict boiling hot liquids or boiling hot tempers.
Vocabulary lists containing boil
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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Term-ometer: Synonyms for "Hot"
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Chemistry - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In all the national postseason hype, the Dodgers projections will boil down to one sentence: Can anyone stop those starters?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Simmering worries that the technology could wipe out civilization and launch cyberattacks reached a boil inside the office and around the dinner table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
It will boil down to Sunday's singles, where all 12 players face off for the crucial points that will decide the winner.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
One began to boil a kettle and emptied the contents into a bucket, along with a cap of bleach.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
The next day we came to a village, and the people there gave our group a gourd for water, dried kernels of corn to boil for food, and a pot to cook in.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
Druckenmiller’s opposition to Treasury policy in essence boils down to Margaret Thatcher’s famous dictum: “You cannot buck the market.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Vietnamese authorities have historically proven effective at detecting and stifling dissent before it boils over into action.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
People showed strange boils and rashes that volunteers photographed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Epicurious’ recipe for a delicious summertime lettuce soup seasons, boils and purées a whole head of lettuce, including both the leaves and ribs, coarsely chopped.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Anger boils all the way up from my toes to my cheeks.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Ube was a staple of Philippine gardens as long as 5,000 years ago, boiled and eaten by families as a substitute to rice when their provisions ran out.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Michael Govan, Lucas Museum board member and chief executive of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, said Lucas choosing L.A. boiled down to “audience and the location.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
The family initially boiled kettles to fill up buckets to wash and clean the dishes, but they've now invested in a camping shower.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Public frustration with it had boiled over in 2022, when Ticketmaster botched ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Out in the middle of the river, a big old catfish rolled and boiled the water to a white foam.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Within the party and beyond it, a row is now boiling.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“The whole system was, in a sense, just boiling — primed and ready to release all of that stored up energy come January 7th,” he said at a Thursday press briefing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Instead of cooking the pasta separately, Meghan puts it directly on top of tomatoes with some lemon zest and greens, then pours boiling water over the whole mixture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Parboil the rice: Cook the rice in generously salted boiling water for 8 minutes.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Everything about him was still rank from the night before, and more than that, he was boiling.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
