I. boil 1 S3 /bɔɪl/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ boil , ↑ boiler ; verb : ↑ boil ; adjective : ↑ boiling ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: boillir , from Latin bullire , from bulla 'bubble' ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] when a liquid boils, or when you boil it, it becomes hot enough to turn into gas
boil at
The solution boiled at 57.4°C.
Put the spaghetti into plenty of boiling salted water.
We were advised to boil the water before drinking it.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] to cook something in boiling water:
a boiled egg
Boil the rice for 15 minutes.
She fried the chicken and put the vegetables on to boil.
3 . [intransitive and transitive] if something containing liquid boils, the liquid inside it is boiling:
The kettle’s boiling – shall I turn it off?
The saucepan boiled dry on the stove.
4 . [transitive] to wash something, using boiling water:
I always boil the cotton sheets.
5 . [intransitive] if you are boiling with anger, you are extremely angry
boil with
Lewis was boiling with rage and misery.
⇨ ↑ boiling point (2), ⇨ make sb’s blood boil at ↑ blood 1 (4)
• • •
THESAURUS
■ ways of cooking something
▪ bake to cook things such as bread or cakes in an oven:
Tom baked a cake for my birthday.
▪ roast to cook meat or vegetables in an oven:
Roast the potatoes for an hour.
▪ fry to cook food in hot oil:
She was frying some mushrooms.
▪ stir-fry to fry small pieces of food while moving them around continuously:
stir-fried tofu and bean sprouts
▪ sauté /ˈsəʊteɪ $ soʊˈteɪ/ to fry vegetables for a short time in a small amount of butter or oil:
Sauté the potatoes in butter.
▪ grill to cook food over or under strong heat:
grilled fish
▪ broil American English to cook food under heat:
broiled fish
▪ boil to cook something in very hot water:
He doesn’t even know how to boil an egg.
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English people seem to love boiled vegetables.
▪ steam to cook vegetables over hot water:
Steam the rice for 15 minutes.
▪ poach to cook food, especially fish or eggs, slowly in hot water:
poached salmon
▪ toast to cook the outside surfaces of bread:
toasted muffins
▪ barbecue to cook food on a metal frame over a fire outdoors:
I thought we could barbecue some mackerel.
▪ microwave to cook food in a microwave oven:
The beans can be microwaved.
boil away phrasal verb
if a liquid boils away, it disappears because it has been heated too much:
The soup’s almost boiled away.
boil down phrasal verb
1 . boil down to something informal if a long statement, argument etc boils down to a single statement, that statement is the main point or cause:
It boils down to a question of priorities.
2 . boil something ↔ down to make a list or piece of writing shorter by not including anything that is not necessary:
You can boil this down so that there are just two main categories.
3 . if a food or liquid boils down, or if you boil it down, it becomes less after it is cooked:
Spinach tends to boil down a lot.
boil something ↔ down
glue made from boiling down old sheepskins
boil over phrasal verb
1 . if a liquid boils over when it is heated, it rises and flows over the side of the container:
The milk was boiling over on the stove behind her.
2 . if a situation or an emotion boils over, the people involved stop being calm:
All the bitterness of the last two years seemed to boil over.
boil over into
Anger eventually boils over into words that are later regretted.
boil up phrasal verb
1 . if a situation or emotion boils up, bad feelings grow until they reach a dangerous level:
She could sense that trouble was boiling up at work.
He could feel the anger boiling up inside him.
2 . boil something ↔ up to heat food or a liquid until it begins to boil:
Boil the fruit up with sugar.
II. boil 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ boil , ↑ boiler ; verb : ↑ boil ; adjective : ↑ boiling ]
[ Sense 1,3: Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ boil 1 ]
[ Sense 2: Language: Old English ; Origin: byl ]
1 . the boil British English , a boil American English the act or state of boiling:
Add the seasoning and bring the sauce to the boil.
She waited for the water to come to the boil (=begin to boil) .
2 . [countable] a painful infected swelling under someone’s skin:
The boy’s body is covered in boils.
3 . go off the boil British English to become less good at something that you are usually very good at:
He’s gone off the boil after a tournament win in Dubai.