boil
Plural: boils
Noun
- a painful sore with a hard core filled with pus
- the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level
- "they brought the water to a boil"
- A localized accumulation of pus in the skin, resulting from infection.
- The point at which fluid begins to change to a vapour; the boiling point.
- An instance of boiling.
- A dish of boiled food, especially seafood.
- A social event at which people gather to boil and eat food, especially seafood. (Compare a bake or clambake.)
- The collective noun for a group of hawks.
- A bubbling.
Verb
Verb Forms: boiled, boiling, boils
- To reach the temperature at which a liquid vaporizes.
- come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor
- "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius"
- immerse or be immersed in a boiling liquid, often for cooking purposes
- "boil potatoes"
- "boil wool"
- bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point
- "boil this liquid until it evaporates"
- be agitated
- be in an agitated emotional state
- To heat to the point where it begins to turn into a gas.
- To cook in boiling water.
- To begin to turn into a gas, seethe.
- To bring to a boil, to heat so as to cause the contents to boil.
- To be uncomfortably hot.
- To feel uncomfortably hot.
- To form, or separate, by boiling or evaporation.
- To steep or soak in warm water.
- To be agitated like boiling water; to bubble; to effervesce.
- To be moved or excited with passion; to be hot or fervid.
Examples
- a down-home boil at the town hall
- a down-home boil with plenty of crab
- Add the noodles when the water comes to the boil.
- Boil some water in a pan.
- Boil the eggs for three minutes.
- His blood boils with anger.
- I could feel my blood BOIL as my opponent stole my triple word score.
- Is the rice boiling yet?
- It’s boiling outside!
- I’m boiling in here – could you open the window?
- Pure water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
- Surface water will do, but give it a good boil before drinking it.
- the boiling waves of the sea
- to boil sugar or salt
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English bile, büle (“boil, tumor”), from Old English bȳl, bȳle (“boil, swelling”), from Proto-Germanic *būlijō, *būlō (“boil”).
Akin to Dutch buil (“boil, swelling”), German Beule (“boil, hump”), Icelandic beyla (“swelling, hump”). The expected form is bile; the rounding of the diphthong could be caused by the initial b- and/or by association with etymology 2.
Synonyms
boiling point, churn, furuncle, moil, roil, seethe, abscess, bake, carbuncle, cook, cyst, do, pimple, plaw, pustule, scorch, stew, swelter, well
Scrabble Score: 6
boil: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordboil: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
boil: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary