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

The difficult truth is that hurricanes are complex beasts, inherently difficult to boil down into a single number. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025

If everything gets boiled down to AI summaries, the internet might start to feel like Wikipedia. —The Ai Insider, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025

The first-time head coach usually conveys to his team in broad themes boiled down to a very concise, to-the-point message. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 26 Oct. 2025

Their anger boils down to preferring that shareholders follow the lead of boards of directors and other corporate managers rather than the analysis of independent third parties. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 24 Oct. 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