boil (boils plural & 3rd person present) (boiling present participle) (boiled past tense & past participle )
1 verb When a hot liquid boils or when you boil it, bubbles appear in it and it starts to change into steam or vapour.
I stood in the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil... V
Boil the water in the saucepan and add the sage... V n
...a saucepan of boiling water. V-ing
2 verb When you boil a kettle or pan, or put it on to boil, you heat the water inside it until it boils.
He had nothing to do but boil the kettle and make the tea... V n
Marianne put the kettle on to boil. V
3 verb When a kettle or pan is boiling, the water inside it has reached boiling point.
only cont
Is the kettle boiling? V
4 verb When you boil food, or when it boils, it is cooked in boiling water.
Boil the chick peas, add garlic and lemon juice... V n
I'd peel potatoes and put them on to boil. V
...boiled eggs and toast. V-ed
5 verb If you are boilingwith anger, you are very angry.
usu cont
I used to be all sweetness and light on the outside, but inside I would be boiling with rage. V with n
6 n-count A boil is a red, painful swelling on your skin, which contains a thick yellow liquid called pus.
(=cyst)
8 When you bring a liquid to the boil, you heat it until it boils. When it comes to the boil, it begins to boil.
bring to the boil/come to the boil phrase V inflects
Put water, butter and lard into a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil.
9
→
to make someone's blood boil
→
blood boil down phrasal verb When you boil down a liquid or food, or when it boils down, it is boiled until there is less of it because some of the water in it has changed into steam or vapour.
(=reduce)
He boils down red wine and uses what's left... V P n (not pron) boil down to phrasal verb If you say that a situation or problem boils down to a particular thing or can be boiled down to a particular thing, you mean that this is the most important or the most basic aspect of it.
(=amount to)
What they want boils down to just one thing. It is land... V P P n boil over
1 phrasal verb When a liquid that is being heated boils over, it rises and flows over the edge of the container.
Heat the liquid in a large, wide container rather than a high narrow one, or it can boil over. V P
2 phrasal verb When someone's feelings boil over, they lose their temper or become violent.
(=erupt)
Sometimes frustration and anger can boil over into direct and violent action. V P
