rolling boil

noun

The boiling of a liquid rapidly with plenty of bubbling, which (unlike simmering) roils the liquid and thus may break up or alter the shape of ingredients.

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Meanings

nounrolling boil (plural rolling boils)

plural rolling boils

  1. cookingThe boiling of a liquid rapidly with plenty of bubbling, which (unlike simmering) roils the liquid and thus may break up or alter the shape of ingredients.

    House of the Dragon has sucked up the spotlight. It has attracted tweets, theories, memes, discussions, all on a rolling boil since the first episode.

    2022 October 17, Stuart Heritage, “Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker”, in The Guardian

Origin

Because the convection within the liquid produces strong currents that tend to swirl rapidly in circular patterns from bottom to surface and back again.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish hervor pleno
  • hervor plenoTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

rolling boil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rolling%20boil

MLA

“rolling boil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rolling%20boil. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rolling boil,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rolling%20boil.

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