boil down

verb

boiled down; boiling down; boils down

transitive verb

1

: to reduce in bulk by boiling

2

: condense, summarize

boil down a report

intransitive verb

1

: to undergo reduction in bulk by boiling

2

a

: to be equivalent in summary : amount

his speech boiled down to a plea for more money

b

: to reduce ultimately

your choices boil down to three

Synonyms of boil down

• summarize
• outline

Examples of boil down in a Sentence

the discussion of the problem can be boiled down to a couple of critical points

Recent Examples on the Web

Perhaps this boils down to a phenomenon that Goldfarb has been writing about for over a decade. — Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Audience expectations probably boil down to the Hollywood convention of actors using British accents for films set in ancient times in foreign regions. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026

Platner, indeed, has boiled down nearly all political problems to the perfidy of sinister oligarchs. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026

The strategy gets its name from what boils down to a three-step approach to lowering taxes. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 1 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1723, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for boil down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

boil down

verb

: to reduce or become reduced by or as if by boiling

let the sauce boil down

boil down a report