boiler

[boi-ler]

noun

1. a closed vessel or arrangement of vessels and tubes, together with a furnace or other heat source, in which steam or other vapor is generated from water to drive turbines or engines, supply heat, process certain materials, etc.

2. a vessel, as a kettle, for boiling boil boiling or heating.

3. British.,  a large tub in which laundry is boiled boil or sterilized.

4. a tank in which water is heated and stored, as for supplying hot water.

boiler

/ ˈbɔɪlə /

noun

1. a closed vessel or arrangement of enclosed tubes in which water is heated to supply steam to drive an engine or turbine or provide heat

2. a domestic device burning solid fuel, gas, or oil, to provide hot water, esp for central heating

3. a large tub for boiling laundry

4. a tough old chicken for cooking by boiling

Other Word Forms

• boilerless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of boiler¹

First recorded in 1530–40; boil ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Turning down your combi boiler's flow temperature can help the system run more efficiently, and save money.

Read more on BBC

Huge pipes carried steam created in enormous belowdecks boilers, which supplied heat to the officers’ cabins and the crew’s living quarters.

Read more on Literature

A swimming pool in Devon is being warmed by a washing machine-sized "digital boiler".

Read more on BBC

Father explained that in a locomotive, water is heated in a boiler.

Read more on Literature

He was short, with a Wall Street belly—not the bleacher bum’s boiler but the discreet, necessary pouch of a squirrel just before winter.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• heater 
• heating system www.thesaurus.com
• incinerator 
• kiln 
• stove