Meanings
present singular third person boils down · participle present boiling down · participle past boiled down · past boiled down
- intransitiveTo 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.
1 more example
For England, everything now boils down to what happens against Poland on Tuesday.
2013 October 11, Daniel Taylor, “Andros Townsend calms England's nerves in taming of Montenegro”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 25 May 2021Synonyms: come down to
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo become reduced (to the most central elements or ingredients: to the essence, core, or implication for action).
More synonyms by meaning
verbbe cooked until very little liquid is left
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
As an allusion to the technique of reduction or decreasing liquid content of food by boiling much of its water off.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan reduir
- reduirTo reduce
French se résumer
- se résumerTo become reduced
German einkochen
- einkochenTo reduce
Italian condensare, ridurre
- condensareTo reduce
- ridurreTo reduce
- semplificareTo reduce
Japanese 煮詰める
- 煮詰める (nitsumeru)Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
Korean 졸다, 조리다
- 졸다 (jolda)To become reduced
- 조리다 (jorida)To reduce
Polish schodzić do, zejść do
- schodzić doUsed other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
- zejść doUsed other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
- sprowadzać się doTo become reduced
- sprowadzić się doTo become reduced
- sprowadzać doTo reduce
- sprowadzić doTo reduce
Portuguese diminuir, resumir-se
- diminuirUsed other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
- resumir-seTo become reduced
- condensarTo reduce
- resumirTo reduce
- simplificarTo reduce
Russian выпа́ривать, вы́парить
- выпа́ривать (vypárivatʹ)Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
- вы́парить (výparitʹ)Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
- своди́ться (svodítʹsja)To become reduced
- свести́сь (svestísʹ)To become reduced
- сжать (sžatʹ)To reduce
- свести́ (svestí)To reduce
Spanish hervirle el agua a, herver el líquido de
- hervirle el agua aUsed other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
- herver el líquido deUsed other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning
- resumirseTo become reduced
- reducirse aTo become reduced
Ukrainian зво́дитися, звести́ся
- зво́дитися (zvódytysja)To become reduced
- звести́ся (zvestýsja)To become reduced
Cite this entry
boil down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boil%20down
“boil down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boil%20down. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boil down,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boil%20down.
Source: boil down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.