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Glite Dictionary
😡 To lose control 🍲 To overflow
to boil over

to boil over

4 2.4
Hot liquid gets too high and spills out of its container
  • phrasal verb
  • /bɔɪl ˈoʊvər/
translation icon : desbordar
  • George got to it just before it boiled over.
  • pot boiled over
  • soup boiling over
  • water boiling over

Examples

  • And it looks like for Bill Murdie, the pot is about ready to boil over.

    For Love of the Game (1999)

  • Make sure that doesn't boil over.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • So why does water not boil over, but oatmeal does?

  • Keep an eye on the potatoes to see they don't boil over.

    The Dead (1987)

  • We mustn't let what's on the stove boil over.

    Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

  • Everywhere, water is boiling over on the stove, refrigerator, freezer, and every cupboard door is open.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • And you have to watch it so it doesn't boil over, freeze, or turn goopy.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • They noticed that he'd left the coffeepot on the stove and it had boiled over.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Martha rose silently and, catching the teapot off the dresser, went to the kettle that was boiling over the fire.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Make sure to watch the pot so it doesn't boil over while cooking the soup.

Synonyms

to well over
vsto boil over
22 4.4

To rise and flow out like tears or strong feelings

means overflow from heating not general strong feeling
to run over
vsto boil over
5 3.2

A liquid flows over the top of its container

refers to overflow caused by heating and strong bubbling
to overboil
vsto boil over
5.4

To make a boiling liquid rise and spill over a pot

has identical meaning but is written as two words
to brim over
vsto boil over
3.6

To flow over the edge when a container or feeling is too full

describes overflow caused by heating rather than fullness

Antonyms

to contain
∞ 1.1

To have something inside like a box or book

How Much

to flood
176 1.0
to boil over
4 2.4
to spill
347 1.0
to leak
212 1.0
drip
44 1.0

Surface Forms

boil over infinitive
boiled over past
boiled over past participle
boiling over present participle
boils over third person singular

Morphology

boil + over

The sense 'to suddenly lose self-control and overflow with emotion' follows a clear metaphor from physical boiling and overflowing: 'boil' (seethe) + 'over' (overflow) yields the image of emotions spilling out. This is a metaphorical but fairly literal extension that many languages use, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents could often infer the meaning, though it still requires metaphorical mapping rather than pure compositionality.

Etymology

Boil over comes from cooking: when a pot boils the liquid makes bubbles and rises over the edge of the pot, so it 'overflows'.