boil

Formsboils, boiling, boiled

Pluralboils

1. 1
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To cook food by putting it in very hot, bubbling water.

   Like cooking pasta by dropping it into a pot of hot, bubbling water.

   Boil the eggs for ten minutes until they are hard.

   She likes to boil rice instead of frying it.

   Note
2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To heat a liquid until it gets so hot that it turns into gas.

   Like heating a kettle until the water turns into steam.

   Boil some water before adding the noodles.

   I always boil milk slowly so it does not burn.

   Similarcook, seethe

   Oppositecondense

   Note
3. 3
   verbintransitive

   To get so hot that bubbles form and the liquid starts to turn into gas.

   The water began to boil after a few minutes on the stove.

   Wait until the soup boils before you lower the heat.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A red, painful lump on the skin that is full of pus and caused by infection.

   Like a swollen, sore bump that forms under the skin.

   A painful boil appeared on the back of his neck.

   The doctor drained the boil and gave her some cream.

   Similarpimple, abscess, cyst, pustule, carbuncle

   Note
5. 5
   nouncountable

   The temperature at which a liquid gets hot enough to start turning into gas.

   Bring the water to a boil before you add the pasta.

   Keep the soup just below a boil so it does not bubble over.

   Note
6. 6
   nouncountable

   A single act of bringing something to a boil.

   Give the sauce one more boil to thicken it.

   A quick boil is enough to soften the greens.

7. 7
   verbintransitive

   To feel very strong emotion, especially anger, building up inside you.

   Like a pot of water getting hotter and hotter until it bubbles over.

   He could feel his anger boil as he read the letter.

   She boiled with rage when she heard the news.

   Similarseethe, fume, rage

   Note
8. 8
   verbintransitive

   To bubble and move around quickly, the way boiling water does.

   Like soda fizzing and bubbling when you open the bottle.

   The sea seemed to boil where the waves crashed on the rocks.

   Foam boiled up around the base of the waterfall.

   Similarchurn, seethe, froth, foam, bubble

   Note
9. 9
   nouncountable

   A meal of food, especially seafood, that has been cooked by boiling.

   Like a big shared meal where everything cooks together in one pot.

   The boil was loaded with shrimp, sausage, and corn.

   The boil simmered for an hour before the guests dug in.

   Note
10. 10
    nounUScountable

    A get-together where people cook and eat food, often seafood, in boiling water.

    Like a barbecue, but the food is cooked in a huge pot of boiling water.

    We're having a crab boil at the beach this weekend.

    Everyone brought corn and potatoes to the shrimp boil.

    Note

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