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

Artificial intelligence developers have borrowed the word to describe boiling down a big AI model into a smaller one—and lately the biggest AI companies say that rivals have been distilling like bootleggers. — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026

The Charter Reform Commission’s recommendations have been boiled down to six charter amendments. — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

The Emmy winner said his purpose in the movie boiled down to just running around. — Zack Sharf, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026

This ultimately boils down to how much internal growth Detroit will see next season. — Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

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