boil
boil Lexical Profile
boil Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To reach or cause a liquid to reach the temperature at which it bubbles and turns to vapor.
"Water boils at one hundred degrees Celsius at standard atmospheric pressure."
To cook or wash something by immersing it in boiling water or another liquid.
"She decided to boil the potatoes for twenty minutes before mashing them with butter."
To feel or be stirred up with intense anger, agitation, or inner turmoil.
"He began to boil with indignation when he heard the unfair accusation against his colleague."
• noun
The state or temperature at which a liquid bubbles and turns to vapor.
"Bring the soup to a gentle boil before reducing the heat to a simmer."
A painful, pus-filled localized swelling under the skin caused by bacterial infection of a hair follicle; a furuncle.
"The doctor lanced and drained the painful boil on the patient's neck."
American A meal or social gathering centered around food cooked together in a large pot of seasoned boiling water, such as seafood, potatoes, and corn.
"Our neighbors hosted a traditional crawfish boil in their backyard last Saturday."
• Rhymes for boil
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
As a verb and cooking term, the word derives from Old French bouillir, from Latin bullire ('to bubble'), related to bulla ('bubble'). The medical sense of a skin swelling comes separately from Old English byl ('swelling, tumor'), from a Proto-Germanic root meaning 'to swell'.