to boil

Examples

• All

• I want eggs boiled soft, the way Mommy makes them.

  Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster (2011)

• I put water on to boil and got the beans out of the freezer.

  Fiction book (1990)

• We need to boil water.

  United 93 (2006)

• Go and boil some water.

  EverAfter (1998)

• Now, boil the water, get the steam going.

  Crocodile Dundee (1986)

• I just have this white quinoa and I boil it with some water.

• Put the nettles in a saucepan with 1 teaspoon of salt and boil over high heat until cooked.

  Academic text (1992)

• The potatoes are boiled, diced, mixed with beaten eggs and cooked in a cast iron skillet.

  Stay (2020)

• Johnny Gomez, as we locals called him, boiled our newcomers their first Florida lobster.

  Fiction book (1990)

• You should boil the potatoes for at least twenty minutes until they are soft.

Synonyms

B

to bring to a boil

vsto boil

21 2.6

To heat a liquid until it boils or make a situation very intense

is heating or cooking while the liquid stays in a hot bubbling state

Antonyms

F

to freeze

770 1.0

Become solid because of cold, like water turning to ice

C

to cool

256 1.0

To make or become less warm

Idioms

M

to make one's blood boil

• Informal

6 7.0

To cause someone to feel very angry

B

to boil the ocean

• Jargon

9.6

To try to do something too big to finish

O

off the boil

• UK

6.0

Hot food or drink that is not bubbling so you can use it

Phrasal Verbs

B

to boil down

• Informal

78 4.2

Come to the main point or idea

B

to bring to a boil

21 2.6

To heat a liquid until it boils or make a situation very intense

B

to boil over

• Informal

7 4.8

To suddenly lose control and show strong anger

B

to boil over

4 2.4

Hot liquid gets too high and spills out of its container

B

to boil down

3 3.8

Cook a liquid until much of its water goes away and it becomes thicker

Compounds

B

boil smut

• Archaic

9.9

A disease of corn that makes grey-white bumps burst and show black dust

D

Delhi boil

• Archaic

9.9

A skin disease that makes open sores on exposed skin after sandfly bites

A

Aleppo boil

• Archaic

9.4

A skin disease that causes painful open sores

How Hot

to boil

269 1.0

to seethe

2 6.3

to simmer

92 2.5

to poach

34 3.9

Surface Forms

Etymology