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boil down

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boil

1  [boil]
Use boil down in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to change from a liquid to a gaseous state, producing bubbles of gas that rise to the surface of the liquid, agitating it as they rise.
2. to reach or be brought to the boiling point: When the water boils, add the meat and cabbage.
3. to be in an agitated or violent state: The sea boiled in the storm.
4. to be deeply stirred or upset.
5. to contain, or be contained in, a liquid that boils: The kettle is boiling. The vegetables are boiling.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause to boil or to bring to the boiling point: Boil two cups of water.
7. to cook (something) in boiling water: to boil eggs.
8. to separate (sugar, salt, etc.) from a solution containing it by boiling off the liquid.
–noun
9. the act or an instance of boiling.
10. the state or condition of boiling: He brought a kettle of water to a boil.
11. an area of agitated, swirling, bubbling water, as part of a rapids.
12. Also called blow. Civil Engineering. an unwanted flow of water and solid matter into an excavation, due to excessive outside water pressure.
—Verb phrases
13. boil down,
a. to reduce the quantity of by boiling off liquid.
b. to shorten; abridge.
c. to be simplifiable or summarizable as; lead to the conclusion that; point: It all boils down to a clear case of murder.
14. boil over,
a. to overflow while boiling or as if while boiling; burst forth; erupt.
b. to be unable to repress anger, excitement, etc.: Any mention of the incident makes her boil over.
—Idiom
15. boil off, Textiles.
a. to degum (silk).
b. to remove (sizing, wax, impurities, or the like) from a fabric by subjecting it to a hot scouring solution.
Also, boil out.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME boillen < AF, OF boillir < L bullīre to bubble, effervesce, boil, v. deriv. of bulla bubble

Synonyms:
3. foam, churn, froth. 4. rage. Boil, seethe, simmer, stew are used figuratively to refer to agitated states of emotion. To boil suggests the state of being very hot with anger or rage: Rage made his blood boil. To seethe is to be deeply stirred, violently agitated, or greatly excited: A mind seething with conflicting ideas. To simmer means to be on the point of bursting out or boiling over: to simmer with curiosity, with anger. To stew is to worry, to be in a restless state of anxiety and excitement: to stew about (or over) one's troubles.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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boil 1   (boil)   
v.   boiled, boil·ing, boils

v.   intr.

    1. To change from a liquid to a vapor by the application of heat: All the water boiled away and left the kettle dry.

    2. To reach the boiling point.

    3. To undergo the action of boiling, especially in being cooked.

  2. To be in a state of agitation; seethe: a river boiling over the rocks.

  3. To be stirred up or greatly excited: The mere idea made me boil.

v.   tr.

    1. To vaporize (a liquid) by the application of heat.

    2. To heat to the boiling point.

  2. To cook or clean by boiling.

  3. To separate by evaporation in the process of boiling: boil the maple sap.

n.  

  1. The condition or act of boiling.

  2. Lower Southern U.S. A picnic featuring shrimp, crab, or crayfish boiled in large pots with spices, and then shelled and eaten by hand.

  3. An agitated, swirling, roiling mass of liquid: "Those tumbling boils show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there" (Mark Twain).

Phrasal Verb(s):
boil down

  1. To reduce in bulk or size by boiling.

  2. To condense; summarize: boiled down the complex document.

  3. To constitute the equivalent of in summary: The scathing editorial simply boils down to an exercise in partisan politics.

boil over

  1. To overflow while boiling.

  2. To lose one's temper.


[Middle English boillen, from Old French boillir, from Latin bullīre, from bulla, bubble.]
boil'a·ble adj.
Synonyms: These verbs mean, both literally and figuratively, to stir up or agitate. To boil is to heat a liquid to a temperature at which it bubbles up and gives off vapor: The water boiled in the kettle.
Figuratively boil pertains to intense agitation: She boiled with resentment.
Simmer denotes gentle cooking just at or below the boiling point: Let the stock simmer for a couple of hours.
Figuratively it refers to a state of gentle ferment: Plans were simmering in his mind.
Seethe emphasizes in both senses the turbulence of steady boiling: Water seethed in the cauldron. "The city had ... been seething with discontent" (John R. Green).
Stew refers literally to slow boiling and figuratively to a persistent but not violent state of agitation: As the prunes stewed, I stirred them gently. "They don't want a man to fret and stew about his work" (William H. Whyte, Jr.)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: boil
Pronunciation: 'boi(&)l
Function: noun
: a localized swelling and inflammation of the skin resulting from bacterial infection in a skingland, having a hard central core, and forming pus called also furuncle
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

boil (boil)
n.
A painful, circumscribed pus-filled inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue usually caused by a local staphylococcal infection. Also called furuncle.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
boil   (boil)  Pronunciation Key 
To change from a liquid to a gaseous state by being heated to the boiling point and being provided with sufficient energy. Boiling is an example of a phase transition.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

boil down

  1. Simplify, summarize, or shorten, as in John finally managed to boil his thesis down to 200 pages.

  2. boil down to. Be reducible to basic elements, be equivalent to. For example, What this issue boils down to is that the council doesn't want to spend more money. These metaphoric usages allude to reducing and concentrating a substance by boiling off liquid. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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