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

While boiling down a Fielder documentary project to its simplest premise risks missing the point entirely, the gist is that Fielder interviewed Holmes in the weeks leading up to the start of her prison sentence in May 2023. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026

Presumably, his unclear methodology boiled down to randomly sampling primes and dividing each from RSA-260 until one of them divided evenly. — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 4 Sep. 2026

Much of the frustration between generations boils down to a disagreement over methods rather than motives. — Kent Ingle, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026

The fact is, much of our financial lives can be boiled down to a few big decisions. — Bydoug Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 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