boil: meaning and definitions

To change from a liquid to a vapor by the application of heat: All the water boiled away and left the kettle dry.

To reach the boiling point.

To undergo the action of boiling, especially in being cooked.

To be in a state of agitation; seethe: a river boiling over the rocks.

To be stirred up or greatly excited: The mere idea made me boil.

To vaporize (a liquid) by the application of heat.

To heat to the boiling point.

To cook or clean by boiling.

To separate by evaporation in the process of boiling: boil the maple sap.

The condition or act of boiling.

Lower Southern U.S. A picnic featuring shrimp, crab, or crayfish boiled in large pots with spices, and then shelled and eaten by hand.

An agitated, swirling, roiling mass of liquid: "Those tumbling boils show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there” ( Mark Twain).

boil down To reduce in bulk or size by boiling.

boil down To condense; summarize: boiled down the complex document.

boil down To constitute the equivalent of in summary: The scathing editorial simply boils down to an exercise in partisan politics.

boil over To overflow while boiling.

boil over To lose one's temper.

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