# boil

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɔɪ(ə)l/ · frequency rank #9,139

## Definitions
1. A localized accumulation of pus in the skin, resulting from infection.

## Etymology
From Middle English bile, büle (“boil, tumor”), from Old English bȳl, bȳle (“boil, swelling”), from Proto-Germanic *būlijō, *būlō (“boil”).
Akin to Dutch buil (“boil, swelling”), German Beule (“boil, hump”), Icelandic beyla (“swelling, hump”). The expected form is bile; the rounding of the diphthong could be caused by the initial b- and/or by association with etymology 2.

## Easily confused with
- **boy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-boy)
- **box** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-box)
- **bow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bow)
- **boo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-boo)
- **bot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bot)
- **BON** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bon)
- **bop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bop)
- **BOM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bom)
- **bor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bor)
- **bok** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bok)
- **bol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bol)
- **Bri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bri)
- **Bui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bui)
- **both** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-both)
- **book** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-book)
- **born** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-born)
- **boys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-boys)
- **boss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-boss)
- **bowl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bowl)
- **bomb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boil-vs-bomb)

## Common misspellings (5)
`bboil`, `biol`, `boill`, `boli`, `obil`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/boil