boil

[boil]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR boil ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

the state or condition of boiling: He brought a kettle of water to a boil.

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

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

Verb Phrases

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.

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

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 of boil

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

Synonyms for boil

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR boil ON THESAURUS.COM

3. foam, churn, froth. 4. rage.

Synonym study

4. 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.

boil

[boil]

noun Pathology.

a painful, circumscribed inflammation of the skin or a hair follicle, having a dead, suppurating inner core: usually caused by a staphylococcal infection.

Origin of boil

before 1000; Middle English bile, bule, Old English bȳle; cognate with German Beule boil, hump, akin to Old Norse beyla hump, swelling

Also called furuncle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for boil

Contemporary Examples of boil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season liberally with salt.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole
Carla Hall
December 27, 2014
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the string beans.
The Barefoot Contessa’s Tasty Trip to Paris
Ina Garten
November 27, 2014
Businesses are suffering more each day in an area where the rents are extortionate, and the situation could boil over soon.
Hong Kong Between Calm and Chaos
Ben Leung
October 3, 2014
But there is a middle way from clean-cut hunkdom to looking like a militia leader who might boil a hitchhiker alive.
Leo, the Beard Has to Go: When a Man’s Facial Hair Reaches Crisis Point
Tim Teeman
September 22, 2014
Get out before the show went off the boil, as some feel it has?
Dan Stevens Blows Up ‘Downton’: From Chubby-Cheeked Aristo to Lean, Mean American Psycho
Tim Teeman
September 19, 2014

Historical Examples of boil

An' I hopes, ol girl,' says he, 'that you'll be able t' boil the water 'ithout burnin' it.'
Quaint Courtships
Various
The captain had ordered Cooper to boil some pitch at the galley.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
Then increase the fire, and boil it hard for a few minutes only.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
It will be a great improvement to cut up a yam and boil it in the soup.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Put them into the soup, add a handful of chopped parsley, and let them boil.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for boil

boil

verb

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

to reach or cause to reach boiling point

to cook or be cooked by the process of boiling

(intr) to bubble and be agitated like something boiling; seethethe ocean was boiling

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

(intr) to contain a boiling liquidthe pot is boiling

noun

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

Derived Formsboilable, adjective

Word Origin for boil

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

boil

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 follicleTechnical name: furuncle

Word Origin for boil

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for 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."

Medicine definitions for boil

boil

[boil]

n.

A painful, circumscribed pus-filled inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue usually caused by a local staphylococcal infection.furuncle

Science definitions for boil

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.

Idioms and Phrases with boil

boil

In addition to the idioms beginning with boil

boil down
boiling point
boil over

also see:

make one's blood boil
watched pot never boils

boil

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Verb Phrases

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Idioms

Origin of boil

Synonyms for boil

Synonym study

boil

noun Pathology.

Origin of boil

Examples from the Web for boil

Contemporary Examples of boil

Historical Examples of boil

boil

verb

noun

Word Origin for boil

boil

noun

Word Origin for boil

boil

n.

boil

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