boil down
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See also: boildown
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
As an allusion to the technique of reduction or decreasing liquid content of food by boiling much of its water off.
Verb[edit]
boil down (third-person singular simple present boils down, present participle boiling down, simple past and past participle boiled down)
- (transitive and intransitive) To reduce in volume by boiling.
- He boiled the soup down so it wouldn't be so weak.
- (intransitive) To become reduced (to the most central elements or ingredients: to the essence, core, or implication for action).
- So what this boils down to is that you still owe me that fifty bucks.
- 2013 October 11, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian[1]:
- For England, everything now boils down to what happens against Poland on Tuesday.
- (transitive) To reduce (to the most central elements or ingredients: to the essence, core, or implication for action).
- My dissertation is 342 pages long, and I'm required to boil it down to a one-page abstract?!
Usage notes[edit]
- Usually followed by to, as in some of the examples above.
- What usually get boiled down are problems, arguments, statements, etc.
Synonyms[edit]
- (become reduced): come down to
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
To become reduced
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