boil

noun

1. A localized accumulation of pus in the skin, resulting from infection.
2. The point at which fluid begins to change to a vapour; the boiling point.

   “Add the noodles when the water comes to the boil.”

3. An instance of boiling.

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

4. A dish of boiled food, especially seafood.

   “a down-home boil with plenty of crab”

   “This is Brad's classic shrimp boil—a recipe he makes for every tailgate party. Brad demands, “Don't use utensils!” INGREDIENTS: Two 6-ounce boxes Old Bay crab/shrimp boil seasoning[…]”

   “CRAWFISH BOIL EN GELÉE (TERRINE OF CRAWFISH) […] For a typical Louisiana shrimp boil, use the recipe for Crawfish Boil (page 28), substituting shrimp for the crawfish […]”

5. (US)A social event at which people gather to boil and eat food, especially seafood. (Compare a bake or clambake.)

   “a down-home boil at the town hall”

   “The whole live crawfish typically are consumed at home and at crawfish boils and other social events where the crawfish is boiled[…]”

   “I met him and his wife, Diane, at a shrimp boil I'd been invited to by another ex-trawler named Lindel.”

   “I also felt the desire to be in a more intimate, familiar setting where we could choose whether or not to talk about our memories of 2005; I ended up spending the evening at a shrimp boil hosted by good friends.”

6. (nonstandard, rare)The collective noun for a group of hawks.
7. (archaic)A bubbling.

   “He swam to the place where Mary disappeared but there was neither boil nor gurgle on the water, nor even a bell of departing breath, to mark the place where his beloved had sunk.”

   “The sea round them clouded and darkened, and then frizzed up in showers of tiny silver fish, and over a space of five or six acres the cod began to leap like trout in May; while behind the cod three or four broad gray-backs broke the water into boils.”

verb

1. (transitive)To heat to the point where it begins to turn into a gas.

   “Boil some water in a pan.”

2. (ambitransitive)To cook in boiling water.

   “Boil the eggs for three minutes.”

   “Is the rice boiling yet?”

   “Toad, that vnder cold ſtone, / Dayes and Nights ha's thirty one: / Sweltred Venom ſleeping got, / Boyle thou firſt i'th'charmed pot.”

3. (intransitive)To begin to turn into a gas, seethe.

   “Pure water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.”

4. (New-Zealand, UK, informal, transitive)To bring to a boil, to heat so as to cause the contents to boil.

   “'I'll boil the kettle,' he said.”

5. (informal, intransitive)To be uncomfortably hot.

   “It’s boiling outside!”

6. (informal, intransitive)To feel uncomfortably hot.

   “I’m boiling in here – could you open the window?”

7. (transitive)To form, or separate, by boiling or evaporation.

   “to boil sugar or salt”

   “Another leader in the packaged product business was the Procter & Gamble Company, formed in Cincinnati in 1837 by William Procter, who molded candles, and his brother-in-law, James Gamble, who boiled soap.”

8. (obsolete)To steep or soak in warm water.

   “To try whether seeds be old or new, the sense cannot inform; but if you boil them in water, the new seeds will sprout sooner.”

9. (intransitive)To be agitated like boiling water; to bubble; to effervesce.

   “the boiling waves of the sea”

   “He maketh the deep to boil like a pot.”

10. To be moved or excited with passion; to be hot or fervid.

    “His blood boils with anger.”

    “Then boyld my breſt with flame and burning wrath, / To reuenge my town vnto ſuch ruine brought.”

    “The city boiled with money. Rents and property values had never been higher, and in the garment industry it was widely held that fashion had never been so fashionable. New restaurants opened every hour.”