boiling
Americanadjective
-
having reached the boiling point; steaming or bubbling up under the action of heat.
boiling water.
-
fiercely churning or swirling.
the boiling seas.
-
(of anger, rage, etc.) intense; fierce; heated.
adverb
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- boilingly adverb
- half-boiling adjective
- nonboiling adjective
Etymology
Origin of boiling
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; boil 1 + -ing 2
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.
TerraPower will use liquid sodium, which has a higher boiling point and allows operations at lower pressures with a more streamlined design than conventional projects.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
It’s almost like we’re seeing interpersonal deliberations that usually go on behind the curtain boiling over into public talks, which is extraordinarily unusual.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026
"Till then, we are boiling the water for drinking," said the young sailor, who asked to be identified only by his last name, Pereira.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
It’s far easier to sit in the boiling waters of despair until the heat becomes tolerable than it is to try to alter the temperature all on our own.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026
I asked, feeling the boiling anger rising up in me again.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
