boil

v. t. 1. To heat to the boiling point, or so as to cause ebullition; as, to boil water. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To form, or separate, by boiling or evaporation; as, to boil sugar or salt. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To subject to the action of heat in a boiling liquid so as to produce some specific effect, as cooking, cleansing, etc.; as, to boil meat; to boil clothes. [ 1913 Webster ]

The stomach cook is for the hall,
And boileth meate for them all. Gower. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To steep or soak in warm water. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To try whether seeds be old or new, the sense can not inform; but if you boil them in water, the new seeds will sprout sooner. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

To boil down, to reduce in bulk by boiling; as, to boil down sap or sirup. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Act or state of boiling. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Influenced by boil, v. See Beal, Bile. ] A hard, painful, inflamed tumor, which, on suppuration, discharges pus, mixed with blood, and discloses a small fibrous mass of dead tissue, called the core. [ 1913 Webster ]

A blind boil, one that suppurates imperfectly, or fails to come to a head. --
Delhi boil (Med.), a peculiar affection of the skin, probably parasitic in origin, prevailing in India (as among the British troops) and especially at Delhi. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Boilery. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Dressed or cooked by boiling; subjected to the action of a boiling liquid; as, boiled meat; a boiled dinner; boiled clothes. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. expressing the essence; condensed; summarized. the final boiled-down crux of the matter
Syn. -- boiled down. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. One who boils. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A vessel in which any thing is boiled. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The word boiler is a generic term covering a great variety of kettles, saucepans, clothes boilers, evaporators, coppers, retorts, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mech.) A strong metallic vessel, usually of wrought iron plates riveted together, or a composite structure variously formed, in which steam is generated for driving engines, or for heating, cooking, or other purposes. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The earliest steam boilers were usually spheres or sections of spheres, heated wholly from the outside. Watt used the wagon boiler (shaped like the top of a covered wagon) which is still used with low pressures. Most of the boilers in present use may be classified as plain cylinder boilers, flue boilers, sectional and tubular boilers. [ 1913 Webster ]

Barrel of a boiler, the cylindrical part containing the flues. --
Boiler plate,
Boiler iron, plate or rolled iron of about a quarter to a half inch in thickness, used for making boilers and tanks, for covering ships, etc. --
Cylinder boiler, one which consists of a single iron cylinder. --
Flue boilers are usually single shells containing a small number of large flues, through which the heat either passes from the fire or returns to the chimney, and sometimes containing a fire box inclosed by water. --
Locomotive boiler, a boiler which contains an inclosed fire box and a large number of small flues leading to the chimney. --
Multiflue boiler. Same as Tubular boiler, below. --
Sectional boiler, a boiler composed of a number of sections, which are usually of small capacity and similar to, and connected with, each other. By multiplication of the sections a boiler of any desired capacity can be built up. --
Tubular boiler, a boiler containing tubes which form flues, and are surrounded by the water contained in the boiler. See Illust. of Steam boiler, under Steam. --
Tubulous boiler. See under Tubulous. See Tube, n., 6, and 1st Flue. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A sunken reef; esp., a coral reef on which the sea breaks heavily. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]