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boiling - 6 dictionary results

boil⋅ing

[boi-ling]
–adjective
1. having reached the boiling point; steaming or bubbling up under the action of heat: boiling water.
2. fiercely churning or swirling: the boiling seas.
3. (of anger, rage, etc.) intense; fierce; heated.
–adverb
4. to an extreme extent; very: August is usually boiling hot; boiling mad.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME. See boil 1 , -ing 2


boil⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

boil

1[boil]
–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.
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.
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


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.
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.
  1. To be in a state of agitation; seethe: a river boiling over the rocks.
  2. 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.
  1. To cook or clean by boiling.
  2. 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.)
boil·ing   (boi'lĭng)   
adj.  
  1. Heated to or past the boiling point: a kettle of boiling water.
  2. Very angry or upset; seething.
adv.  Used as an intensive: fainted because it was boiling hot; boiling mad over the mistake.

Boiling

Boil"ing\, a. Heated to the point of bubbling; heaving with bubbles; in tumultuous agitation, as boiling liquid; surging; seething; swelling with heat, ardor, or passion.

Boiling point, the temperature at which a fluid is converted into vapor, with the phenomena of ebullition. This is different for different liquids, and for the same liquid under different pressures. For water, at the level of the sea, barometer 30 in., it is 212 [deg] Fahrenheit; for alcohol, 172.96[deg]; for ether, 94.8[deg]; for mercury, about 675[deg]. The boiling point of water is lowered one degree Fahrenheit for about 550 feet of ascent above the level of the sea.

Boiling spring, a spring which gives out very hot water, or water and steam, often ejecting it with much force; a geyser.

To be at the boiling point, to be very angry.

To keep the pot boiling, to keep going on actively, as in certain games. [Colloq.]

Boiling

Boil"ing\, n. 1. The act of ebullition or of tumultuous agitation.

2. Exposure to the action of a hot liquid.
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