boil

CEFRA2

/bɔɪ(ə)l/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To heat a liquid until it bubbles.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    An instance of boiling.

Examples

  • Parents who beat their children really make my blood boil.

  • I'll boil you the beans.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning
  1. The point at which fluid begins to change to a vapour; the boiling point.

noun

Extra meanings
  1. A localized accumulation of pus in the skin, resulting from infection.

  2. A dish of boiled food, especially seafood.

More examples

In context
  • Money will make the pot boil.

  • Add the noodles when the water comes to the boil.

  • Surface water will do, but give it a good boil before drinking it.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

You need to blank the water for at least ten minutes before adding the pasta.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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.