boil down

verb

1. to reduce or be reduced in quantity and usually altered in consistency by boiling

   to boil a liquid down to a thick glue

2. boil down to
   1. intr to be the essential element in something
   2. tr to summarize; reduce to essentials

Example Sentences

There is a reasonable argument to be made that the 2024 election outcome boils down to fundamental differences regarding what we, as a nation, find to be funny and what we take to be indecent.

From Salon

Unsurprisingly, most of it boils down to fear.

From Salon

For all his endless rambling nonsense, Donald Trump's message can be boiled down to a simple lie: If one group of people does well, it must necessarily be at the expense of another.

From Salon

While news outlets rushed to provide “fact-checking,” which boiled down to “None of this is true,” the country, already exhausted and traumatized by a pandemic, tried to contextualize the enormity of Trump’s actions.

From Los Angeles Times

“It boils down to: who is getting out to vote? The turnout really matters here.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• adapt
• alter
• analyze
• annotate
• arrange
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• choose
• compile
• compose
• delete
• prepare
• publish
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• revise
• select