boil - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

If you heat water to 212° Fahrenheit, then expect to see it boil — bubbling as it turns from a liquid to a vapor. It's what a watched pot never seems to do!

If the water is bubbling and roiling, then it's probably boiling. Cooks boil stuff all the time on the stove; geysers and hot springs boil naturally. And if you spill boiled red cabbage on the new white couch, mom's temper might just boil over. So you see boil can be used both literally and figuratively — to depict boiling hot liquids or boiling hot tempers.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: boil

1	v n	come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level
2	v	be agitated
3	n	a painful sore with a hard core filled with pus

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: boil

1

v come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor

“Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius”

Antonyms:: freeze
change to ice; freeze, freeze down, freeze out
change from a liquid to a solid when cold; show more antonyms...

Types:: boil over, overboil
overflow or cause to overflow while boiling

Type of:: change state, turn
undergo a transformation or a change of position or action

v bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point

“boil this liquid until it evaporates”

Types:: decoct
extract the essence of something by boiling it

Type of:: alter, change, modify
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

v immerse or be immersed in a boiling liquid, often for cooking purposes

“boil potatoes”

“boil wool”

Types:: overboil
boil excessively; simmer
boil slowly at low temperature

Type of:: change
undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature

n the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level

“they brought the water to a boil”

Synonyms:: boiling point

Type of:: temperature
the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity)

2

v be agitated

Synonyms:: churn, moil, roil

Types:: roll, seethe
boil vigorously

Type of:: move
move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion

v be in an agitated emotional state

Synonyms:: seethe

Types:: bubble over, overflow, spill over
overflow with a certain feeling; ferment
be in an agitated or excited state; sizzle
seethe with deep anger or resentment

Type of:: be
have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)

3

n a painful sore with a hard core filled with pus

Synonyms:: furuncle

Types:: gumboil
a boil or abscess on the gums

Type of:: staphylococcal infection
an infection with staphylococcus bacteria; usually marked by abscess formation