hard-boiled

American  

[hahrd-boild] / ˈhɑrdˈbɔɪld /

adjective

1. Cooking. (of an egg) boiled in the shell long enough for the yolk and white to solidify.

2. Informal. tough; unsentimental.

   a hard-boiled vice-squad detective.

3. marked by a direct, clear-headed approach; realistic.

   a hard-boiled appraisal of the foreign situation.

4. (of detective fiction) written in a laconic, dispassionate, often ironic style for a realistic, unsentimental effect.

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hard-boiled British  

adjective

1. (of an egg) boiled until the yolk and white are solid

2. informal

   1. tough, realistic

   2. cynical

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Other Word Forms

• hard-boiledness noun

Etymology

Origin of hard-boiled

1715–25; 1895–80 hard-boiled for def. 2; hard + boiled

Example Sentences

A hard-boiled egg is something else entirely: firm, portable, reliable, tucked into lunchboxes or sliced over a salad.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

As his deceit becomes apparent, the music shifts from crisp hip-hop beats to a hard-boiled film noir crescendo.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

She was a fan of hard-boiled eggs and slices of fresh avocado, and she, too, loved to read about the pink of strawberry ice lollies and the red of sunsets and the orange of oranges.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026

Their feast also consists of hard-boiled eggs, shrimp crackers, cup ramyeon, odeng-guk fish cake soup, sweet hotteok pancakes and naengmyeon, which is served in a stainless steel bowl.

From Salon • Jun. 27, 2025

Advice, when she offered it, tended to be of the hard-boiled and pragmatic variety.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• hard-nosed