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

• 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

Basically, the issue boils down to the fact that coconut water doesn’t offer a well-rounded electrolyte mix, according to Levi. —Caroline Tien, SELF, 15 Aug. 2025

Dress it down with slouchy denim or give the blouse a sultry spin by way of a leather miniskirt — this ultimately boils down to your evening plans. —Kelsey Stewart, Glamour, 14 Aug. 2025

Scaling well boils down to one question: Can your operations carry the weight? —Aleksandr Zemel, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

For many operators, the cloud argument boils down to uptime: a thin client that reboots in seconds matters when the Friday lottery rush stretches to the beverage aisle, all with a fully offline mode to ensure lines never stop moving. —Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025

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