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

Ultimately, Brooks’s advice boils down to shifting from self-promotion to service. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025

No matter how meritless the lawsuit (for example, the Times suit boils down to simply not liking the coverage), several companies settled in order to curry favor. —Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025

The case boiled down to video of the incident and dueling theories by defense and prosecution experts on police use of force. —Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025

The sap is less than 3% sugar; 32 to 40 gallons of sap boil down to just one gallon of syrup. —Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 15 Sep. 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