BOIL

(HEAT) [verb] - to (cause to) reach the temperature at which a liquid starts to turn into a gasLiquid nitrogen boils at a very low temperature. [I]If you give water to a small baby to drink, you should boil it first. [T]When a container boils, esp. one used for cooking, or you boil a container, it is heated until the liquid in it starts to turn into a gas.The saucepan's boiling. [I]Could you boil a kettle for me? [T]If food boils, or you boil food, it is cooked by being put in water which is heated until it starts to turn into a gas.The carrots are boiling. [I]I boiled some potatoes for dinner. [T]See picture: CookingIf you boil clothes, you wash them in a container of very hot water.When a liquid boils away, it all turns into a gas so that none of it is left in liquid form.When you boil down a liquid or food, or it boils down, you heat it so that part of it is turned into gas, and its amount is reduced.You make jam by boiling down fruit. [M]Leave the sauce to boil down. [I]If a container or food boils dry, all the liquid in the container in which the food was cooking has turned to gas.When a liquid boils over, it rises up as it starts to turn into a gas, and flows over the edge of its container.Careful, the milk's boiling over!If a container boils over, the liquid in it rises up as it starts to turn into a gas, and flows over the edge.That saucepan is boiling over.If you boil up a liquid (or food), you heat liquid in a container (and cook food in it).Could you boil some water up for me?I'll just boil up the peas, then dinner will be ready.To boil down information, or to boil information down, is to reduce it, usually so that it contains only its most important parts.The journalist boiled down his lengthy report to just a few paragraphs.To boil down to something is to be the result of it.The problem all boils down to a lack of money.When a person or situation boils over, they suddenly become out of control or violent.If a difficult situation boils up, it becomes more difficult and dangerous.Trouble has been boiling up in the prison for weeks.If a person says that they can't boil an egg, they mean that they are unable to cook even the simplest meal.