BOIL

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does boil mean? 

• BOIL (noun)
  The noun BOIL has 2 senses:

1. a painful sore with a hard core filled with pus

2. the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level

  Familiarity information: BOIL used as a noun is rare.

• BOIL (verb)
  The verb BOIL has 5 senses:

1. come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor

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

3. bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point

4. be agitated

5. be in an agitated emotional state

  Familiarity information: BOIL used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BOIL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A painful sore with a hard core filled with pus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

boil; furuncle

Hypernyms ("boil" is a kind of...):

staphylococcal infection (an infection with staphylococcus bacteria; usually marked by abscess formation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "boil"):

gumboil (a boil or abscess on the gums)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

boil; boiling point

Context example:

they brought the water to a boil

Hypernyms ("boil" is a kind of...):

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

Derivation:

boil (immerse or be immersed in a boiling liquid, often for cooking purposes)

boil (bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point)

boil (come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor)

• BOIL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they boil    ... he / she / it boils   
Past simple: boiled   
Past participle: boiled   
-ing form: boiling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius

Hypernyms (to "boil" is one way to...):

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "boil"):

boil over; overboil (overflow or cause to overflow while boiling)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The water boils

Antonym:

freeze (change to ice)

Derivation:

boil (the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level)

boiler (sealed vessel where water is converted to steam)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

boil wool

Hypernyms (to "boil" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "boil"):

overboil (boil excessively)

simmer (boil slowly at low temperature)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The chefs boil the vegetables

Derivation:

boil (the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level)

boiler (a metal pot for stewing or boiling; usually has a lid)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

boil this liquid until it evaporates

Hypernyms (to "boil" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Cause:

boil (come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "boil"):

decoct (extract the essence of something by boiling it)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They boil the water

Derivation:

boil (the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level)

boiler (sealed vessel where water is converted to steam)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be agitated

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

boil; churn; moil; roil

Context example:

the sea was churning in the storm

Hypernyms (to "boil" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "boil"):

roll; seethe (boil vigorously)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence example:

The water boils

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be in an agitated emotional state

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

boil; seethe

Context example:

The customer was seething with anger

Hypernyms (to "boil" is one way to...):

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

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "boil"):

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)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue boil over the results of the experiment

 Context examples 

I went down the stairs and into the hall, where I found the commissionnaire fast asleep in his box, with the kettle boiling furiously upon the spirit-lamp.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Again I heard from her own lips things that made my blood boil, and again I cursed this brute who mishandled the woman I loved.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When her hands were not hard from the endless housework, they were swollen and red like boiled beef, what of the washing.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

When the water in the kettle was boiling, the cook went into the bedroom to fetch Fundevogel and throw him into it.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I laid in a stock of boiled flesh, of rabbits and fowls, and took with me two vessels, one filled with milk and the other with water.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

‘Oh, tut, tut! sweating—rank sweating!’ he cried, throwing his fat hands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling passion.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"I say, Tess," he said, the next moment, "don't you think that coffee's boiled long enough!"

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I boiled the water, but it was Maud who made the coffee. And how good it was!

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The images show a pattern of turbulent “boiling” plasma that covers the entire sun.

(Newest solar telescope produces first images, National Science Foundation)

The insides of our homes can contain small molecules like chloroform or benzene a component of gasoline through simple actions like showering, boiling water, or storing cars on lawnmowers in attached garages.

(Common Houseplant with Genetic Modification Can Remove Polluted Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)