boil
/bɔil/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- The act or state of boiling: The point at which a liquid bubbles and turns to vapor.
- A painful, inflamed swelling on the skin: A localized infection, typically with pus.
Verb:
- To reach or cause to reach the temperature where a liquid bubbles and turns to vapor.
- To cook something in boiling water.
- To be in a state of intense agitation or anger (figurative).
Usage and Examples
Noun:
- Wait for the boil before adding the pasta. (The state of the water bubbling vigorously.)
- The doctor lanced the painful boil on his neck. (A skin infection.)
Verb:
- Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level. (Reaches its vaporization point.)
- Please boil the eggs for six minutes. (Cook in bubbling water.)
- He was boiling with rage after the argument. (Was extremely angry.)
Advanced Usage
To make one's blood boil: To cause someone to become extremely angry.
- The injustice of the situation made her blood boil.
To keep the pot boiling: To maintain an activity or provide enough money to live on.
- He took on freelance work to keep the pot boiling.
Variants and Related Words
- Boiler (n): A device for heating water.
- Boiling (adj/adv): Extremely hot; very angry. (e.g., , )
- Boiled (adj): Cooked in boiling water. (e.g., )
Synonyms
- Simmer (v): To boil gently.
- Seethe (v): To boil; to be filled with intense but unexpressed anger.
- Furuncle (n): Medical term for a boil.
Phrasal Verbs
Boil down to (something): To reduce in quantity by boiling; to summarize or be the main reason.
- The sauce needs to boil down to half its volume.
- His argument boils down to a lack of trust.
Boil over: To overflow while boiling; for a situation to become uncontrollable, especially anger.
- The milk boiled over onto the stove.
- Their disagreement finally boiled over into a shouting match.
Boil away: To vaporize completely through boiling.
- If you don't cover it, all the water will boil away.
Idioms
- A watched pot never boils: Time seems to pass very slowly when you are waiting for something to happen.
- To boil the ocean: To attempt an impossible or enormously ambitious task.
Noun
- the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level
- they brought the water to a boil
- a painful sore with a hard core filled with pus
Verb
- be in an agitated emotional state
- The customer was seething with anger
- be agitated
- the sea was churning in the storm
- bring to, or maintain at, the boiling point
- boil this liquid until it evaporates
- immerse or be immersed in a boiling liquid, often for cooking purposes
- boil potatoes
- boil wool
- come to the boiling point and change from a liquid to vapor
- Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius