boil down
"boil-down" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“boil down” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To reduce in volume by boiling.
Corpus desk
Index EN-boil-down · boil down · English
boil down · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | boil down |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “boil down” in English
Rare enough to double-check
boil down is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for boil down in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: As an allusion to the technique of reduction or decreasing liquid content of food by boiling much of its water off. The correct English form is boil down, spelled B-O-I-L- -D-O-W-N.
Definition
- 1To reduce in volume by boiling.
- 2To become reduced (to the most central elements or ingredients: to the essence, core, or implication for action).
- 3To reduce (to the most central elements or ingredients: to the essence, core, or implication for action).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how boil down appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He boiled the soup down so it wouldn't be so weak.
So what this boils down to is that you still owe me that fifty bucks.
Etymology
As an allusion to the technique of reduction or decreasing liquid content of food by boiling much of its water off.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.