boiling
Americanadjective
-
having reached the boiling point; steaming or bubbling up under the action of heat.
boiling water.
-
fiercely churning or swirling.
the boiling seas.
-
(of anger, rage, etc.) intense; fierce; heated.
adverb
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- boilingly adverb
- half-boiling adjective
- nonboiling adjective
Etymology
Origin of boiling
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; boil 1 + -ing 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s almost like we’re seeing interpersonal deliberations that usually go on behind the curtain boiling over into public talks, which is extraordinarily unusual.
From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026
Our critic said the show finds Ms. Worsley “once again boiling the past down to its essence, without belaboring the ironies.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
It’s far easier to sit in the boiling waters of despair until the heat becomes tolerable than it is to try to alter the temperature all on our own.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026
Bangladesh launched fuel rationing on Sunday as the war in the Middle East deepened an energy crunch, creating long queues at filling stations and boiling over into anger.
From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026
Rowdy and I threw brush all over the bottoms when we came boiling up out of the hole.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
