boiling point
4
4.4
- noun
- /ˈbɔɪlɪŋ pɔɪnt/
- Informal
:
punto de ebullición
- They were frustrated by the inaction of their national governments; the situation reached a boiling point, and we all saw what happened next.
- reached a boiling point
- anger reached a boiling point
- came to a boiling point
And then once that hits, it's it's boiling point so to speak, he will move on to the next.
- And then once that hits, it's it's boiling point so to speak, he will move on to the next.
- And there was this moment where he kind of it came to a boiling point.
Examples
-
For those of you who have known librarians, you know we're not a confrontational sort, and it takes a lot to get us worked up, but we, as a profession, have about hit our proverbial boiling point.
Blog text (32) -
They are enraging hundreds of millions of people and embittering an entire generation of anti-Americans whose rage is already near the boiling point.
Academic text (2004) -
I reached my boiling point one day; I pulled her to the side and asked her to lower her tone when speaking to me.
Blog text (8) -
The frustration level has gone past the boiling point for too many, and the people are ready to let off some steam.
Blog text (25) -
Because I think we've finally reached a boiling point.
Blog text (6) -
And while it is true that decades-old ethnic divisions had reached a boiling point in the early 1990s, it was economic and political factors that were the primary causes of the Rwandan genocide.
Academic text (2000) -
For some time, Cyprian had been appointing new clergymen who were loyal to him and dependent upon his patronage, and the resentment this created among the other clergy of Carthage reached boiling point.
Academic text (2004) -
After months of ignoring their issues, their arguments finally reached a boiling point and they had a huge fight.
-
The team's frustrations had been simmering for weeks, and during the meeting, they reached a boiling point of anger.
-
As the discussion about the project continued, she felt her patience nearing the boiling point and spoke up.
Synonyms
37
3.9
The moment when a person or thing can no longer handle pressure
8
5.3
A time when people feel very strong excitement together
3
7.7
A time when a situation can suddenly become violent or very dangerous
Antonyms
How Angry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'boiling' (intense seething or agitation) with 'point' (a specific stage or moment), so the meaning 'the moment when anger or stress becomes extreme' is a direct, metaphorical extension of the literal composition. The anger-as-boiling metaphor and adjective+noun composition are common cross-linguistically and follow standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can usually infer the meaning.
Etymology
Boiling point comes from the picture of a pot on the stove; when water boils it hits a point where it bubbles and can spill over, and people use that image for feelings, so the phrase means 'anger or stress becomes extreme'.