boil the ocean

verb

To undertake an overwhelmingly difficult task or approach to a problem.

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Meanings

verbboil the ocean (third-person singular simple present boils the ocean, present participle boiling the ocean, simple past and past participle boiled the ocean)

present singular third person boils the ocean · participle present boiling the ocean · participle past boiled the ocean · past boiled the ocean

  1. figurativelyTo undertake an overwhelmingly difficult task or approach to a problem.

    Whitman said she will not try to "boil the ocean" by taking on too much.

    2010 March 9, “Whitman defines herself as the un-Schwarzenegger”, in ABC News
Cite this entry
APA

boil the ocean. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boil%20the%20ocean

MLA

“boil the ocean.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boil%20the%20ocean. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boil the ocean,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boil%20the%20ocean.

Source: boil the ocean on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.