boil

/bɔɪl/

/bɔɪl/

Other forms: boiling; boiled; boils

If you heat water to 212° Fahrenheit, then expect to see it boil — bubbling as it turns from a liquid to a vapor. It's what a watched pot never seems to do!

If the water is bubbling and roiling, then it's probably boiling. Cooks boil stuff all the time on the stove; geysers and hot springs boil naturally. And if you spill boiled red cabbage on the new white couch, mom's temper might just boil over. So you see boil can be used both literally and figuratively — to depict boiling hot liquids or boiling hot tempers.

Definitions of boil

1. verb

   come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor
   “Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius”

   antonyms:

   freeze

   change to ice

   freeze, freeze down, freeze out

   change from a liquid to a solid when cold

   types:

   boil over, overboil

   overflow or cause to overflow while boiling

   type of:

   change state, turn

   undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
2. verb

   bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point
   “boil this liquid until it evaporates”

   types:

   decoct

   extract the essence of something by boiling it

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
3. verb

   immerse or be immersed in a boiling liquid, often for cooking purposes
   “boil potatoes”

   “boil wool”

   types:

   overboil

   boil excessively

   simmer

   boil slowly at low temperature

   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
4. noun

   the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level
   “they brought the water to a boil”

   synonyms: boiling point

   type of:

   temperature

   the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity)
5. verb

   be agitated
   synonyms: churn, moil, roil

   types:

   roll, seethe

   boil vigorously

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
6. verb

   be in an agitated emotional state
   synonyms: seethe

   types:

   bubble over, overflow, spill over

   overflow with a certain feeling

   ferment

   be in an agitated or excited state

   sizzle

   seethe with deep anger or resentment

   type of:

   be

   have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
7. noun

   a painful sore with a hard core filled with pus
   synonyms: furuncle

   types:

   gumboil

   a boil or abscess on the gums

   type of:

   staphylococcal infection

   an infection with staphylococcus bacteria; usually marked by abscess formation