I. ˈbȯil, esp bef pause or cons ˈbȯiəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration (probably influenced by boil ) (II) of Middle English bile — more at bile
1. : furuncle
2. : seed 4a
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English boilen, boillen, from Old French boillir, from Latin bullire to bubble, boil, from bulla bubble — more at poll (head)
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to generate through the action of heat bubbles of vapor that rise and agitate the mass : be agitated by ebullition — used of a liquid
b. : to come to the boiling point
a watched kettle never boils
the coffee boiled up quickly
2.
a. : to be agitated and tossed about in a manner suggestive of boiling water : bubble or foam violently : seethe , churn
the sound of the river boiling along the banks — C.S.Forester
b. : to move in a swirling eddying mass
dust motes boiled in a ray of light — Archie Binns
a great cloud of dust boiled up past the windows — Hamilton Basso
black smoke boiled up from the burning warehouse
3. : to be moved or excited (as with indignation or anger) : be intensely stirred up
his blood boils at the mention of it
4.
a. : to rush tumultuously or headlong
they boiled through the door in pursuit of the fleeing bandit
the insects would come boiling out of the swamps — R.P.Warren
b. : to break forth : gush up or out : erupt
the sensational news boiled into headlines and bulletins
c. of a fish : to rise swiftly (as in striking)
5. : to undergo the action of a boiling liquid
the beans must boil for some time
transitive verb
1. : to subject to the action of a boiling liquid (as in cooking or cleaning)
the potatoes will need to be boiled longer
2. : to heat to the boiling point : cause (a liquid) to bubble with heat
the water must be boiled before use
3. : to form or separate (as sugar or salt) by boiling or by evaporation involving ebullition
they carefully boiled the salt out of the water
•
- boil the pot
III. noun
( -s )
1. : the act or state of boiling : agitation
2.
a. : a swirling upheaval of water ; especially : one at the surface of a river, a large spring, a pool below a dam, or the sea
b. : the swirl made by a fish moving at or near the surface especially when feeding
3. : a disturbance in the surface soil caused by the escape of water under a water-excluding structure (as a levee or cofferdam)
4. : a stage during which the metal bath in a steelmaking furnace seems to boil as a result of the escape of gas