boil down

boil down
verb Date: 1731 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
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • boil down — (something) to reduce something to its most basic or important parts. I am supposed to boil down this ten page report to half a page. The whole question boils down to how will we pay for this? …   New idioms dictionary

  • boil down — index abridge (shorten), distill, lessen Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • boil down — verb 1. be the essential element (Freq. 1) The proposal boils down to a compromise • Syn: ↑reduce, ↑come down • Derivationally related forms: ↑reducible (for: ↑reduc …   Useful english dictionary

  • boil down to — COME DOWN TO, amount to, add up to, be in essence. → boil * * * boil down to (figurative) To mean, to signify when reduced to essentials • • • Main Entry: ↑boil * * * ˌboil ˈdown to [transitive] never progressive [ …   Useful english dictionary

  • boil down — v. 1) (d; intr.) to boil down to (it all boils down to one simple fact) 2) (D; tr.) to boil down to (she boiled the whole story down to one paragraph) * * * [ bɔɪl daʊn] (d; intr.) to boil down to (it all boil downs down to one simple fact) (D;… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • boil down — phrasal verb Word forms boil down : present tense I/you/we/they boil down he/she/it boils down present participle boiling down past tense boiled down past participle boiled down 1) [intransitive/transitive] to become smaller in quantity after… …   English dictionary

  • boil down to — phrasal verb [transitive, never progressive] Word forms boil down to : present tense I/you/we/they boil down to he/she/it boils down to present participle boiling down to past tense boiled down to past participle boiled down to boil down to… …   English dictionary

  • boil down — PHR V ERG When you boil down a liquid or food, or when it boils down, it is boiled until there is less of it because some of the water in it has changed into steam or vapour. [V P n (not pron)] He boils down red wine and uses what s left... [V P] …   English dictionary

  • boil down to — phr verb Boil down to is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑argument …   Collocations dictionary

  • boil down something — boil down (something) to reduce something to its most basic or important parts. I am supposed to boil down this ten page report to half a page. The whole question boils down to how will we pay for this? …   New idioms dictionary

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