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boiling

noun · adjective · adverb

Simple meaning

Changing a substance from liquid to gas by heating it to its boiling point.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

boyling

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɔɪlɪŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uncountablecountable

    The process of changing the state of a substance from liquid to gas by heating it to its boiling point.

  2. The application of heat to change something from a liquid to a gas

  3. uncountablecountable

    The cooking (of food) or cleaning (of an object) by immersing it in liquid (usually water) that is boiling.

  4. Cooking in a liquid that has been brought to a boil

  5. countablefigurative

    A turmoil; a disturbance like that of bubbling water.

  6. uncountablefigurative

    An animation style with constantly changing wavy outlines, giving a shimmering or wobbling appearance.

adjective

  1. informalhyperbolic

    Of a thing: extremely hot or active.

  2. That boils or boil.

adverb

  1. of adjectives associated with heat

    Extremely

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The process of changing the state of a substance from liquid to gas by heating it to its boiling point.

Used this way, boiling is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Changing / cooking

boiling pointboiling waterboiling oil

Other combinations

boiling temperaturehigh boilinglow boilingnormal boiling

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • boilverbBase word

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

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • boilernounPerson or profession · specialist

    Sealed vessel where water is converted to steam.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • boiling pointnounCompound term

    The temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level.

  • boiling water reactornounCompound term

    A nuclear reactor that uses water as a coolant and moderator.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • boiled eggnounRelated term

    Egg cooked briefly in the shell in gently boiling water.

  • boil oververbRelated term

    Overflow or cause to overflow while boiling.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.