boil over

verb

boiled over; boiling over; boils over

intransitive verb

1

: to overflow while boiling

2

a

: to become violent or lose control because of anger

so frustrated he's ready to boil over

b

: to develop into something more violent

Their disagreement finally boiled over into a fight.

boilover

ˈbȯi(-ə)l-ˌō-vər 

noun

Examples of boil over in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Game director Cary Trzcinski made sure emotions did not boil over and lead to a melee, sticking his thick body and fierce game face into one brewing moment in the second half. —Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 1 Feb. 2026

The game marked Dallas’ fourth-straight loss, tying a season-high, which boiled over to Kidd’s postgame news conference. —Mike Curtis, Dallas Morning News, 1 Feb. 2026

Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer over medium. —Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026

Later in 2024, their feud boiled over and Khosla demanded an apology from Musk after the latter attacked Khosla for his role in a longrunning public land battle in California. —Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for boil over

• carryover
• changeover
• crossover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover

Kids Definition

boil over

verb

1

: to overflow while boiling

2

: to become so angry as to lose one's temper