boil

Word family

1 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]DFCH when a liquid boils, or when you boil it, it becomes hot enough to turn into gas （使）沸腾，煮沸，烧开

boil at

The solution boiled at 57.4°C.

溶液在57.4摄氏度时沸腾。

Put the spaghetti into plenty of boiling salted water.

把意大利面放入大量煮沸的盐水中。

We were advised to boil the water before drinking it.

有人建议我们把这水烧开后再喝。

2 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]DFC to cook something in boiling water 〔用开水〕煮〔食物〕

a boiled egg

一个煮鸡蛋

Boil the rice for 15 minutes.

把米饭煮十五分钟。

She fried the chicken and put the vegetables on to boil.

她把鸡肉炸了炸，再把蔬菜放进去煮。

► see thesaurus at cook →4 See picture of 见图 EGG 1 →5 see picture at 见图 egg1

3 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]DFCH if something containing liquid boils, the liquid inside it is boiling 〔容器里的液体〕沸腾，烧开

The kettle’s boiling – shall I turn it off?

水壶里的水开了——我把火关了好吗？

The saucepan boiled dry on the stove.

锅在炉子上烧干了。

4 [transitiveT]DHC to wash something, using boiling water 〔用开水〕洗

I always boil the cotton sheets.

我总是用开水洗棉质床单。

5 [intransitiveI] if you are boiling with anger, you are extremely angry 大怒

boil with

Lewis was boiling with rage and misery.

刘易斯恼羞成怒。

→ boiling point(2), → make somebody’s blood boil at blood1(4)

n Grammar

Boil belongs to a group of verbs where the same noun can be the subject of the verb or its object.

You can say:

I’m boiling the potatoes.

In this sentence, ‘the potatoes’ is the object of boil.

You can also say:

The potatoes are boiling.

In this sentence, ‘the potatoes’ is the subject of boil.

PHRASAL VERBS

Examples from the Corpus

boil• This got Jim's blood boiling and, driving like a tiger, he dominated from the start.• I boil it like a tea and it helps hurry the process up, if the woman is ready.• The beans should be boiled rapidly for at least twenty minutes.• Put the spaghetti into boiling, salted water.• She was just boiling some water when the door opened and Julius walked in.• Boil the potatoes until they are soft.• Boil the vegetables for 10 minutes.• Boil the water before drinking it.• Clothes had to be boiled to prevent the disease from spreading.• One afternoon that spring the weather became inordinately hot, boiling up to midsummer levels.

boil at• Water boils at 100 degrees centigrade.

put ... on to boil• I filled a kettle with water from the outside tap and put it on to boil.• He put water on to boil and took a cold shower.

boiled dry• Anyway that kettle must be boiled dry now; make the tea.