boilover

B3O1I1L1O1V4E1R1

noun

A hazardous situation where an attempt is made to extinguish semi-enclosed oil- or petrochemical-fuelled fire with water, generating steam which propels the burning fuel outwards.

Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nounboilover (countable and uncountable, plural boilovers)

plural boilovers

  1. countableuncountableA hazardous situation where an attempt is made to extinguish semi-enclosed oil- or petrochemical-fuelled fire with water, generating steam which propels the burning fuel outwards.
  2. AustraliaNew ZealandcountableslangA sporting event with an unexpected outcome, especially a horse race where the favourite fails to win.

    […] there was not much good horsemanship. The Derby itself was an ordinary race, something of a boilover for Dark Star […]

    1953, Pastoralists' Review (volume 63, issues 7-12, page 716)

Origin

Deverbal from boil over.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

overboil
Cite this entry
APA

boilover. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boilover

MLA

“boilover.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boilover. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boilover,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boilover.

Source: boilover on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.