as in to summarize
to make into a short statement of the main points (as of a report)
the discussion of the problem can be boiled down to a couple of critical points
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Recent Examples of boil down
Kirby’s frustration largely boils down to one thing: the FAA’s 2016 decision to remove slot controls at Newark — the scheduling mechanism that limits how many flights can take off or land each hour.
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Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 9 May 2025
Motivation to lead boils down to two factors: The need to achieve (e.g., prestige) – Some people are motivated by the chance to make an impact, improve the world, push for progress.
—London Business School, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
The core gameplay loop boils down to creeping through buildings, killing CPU enemies, and hopefully avoiding getting shot in the back of the head by another team long enough to escape with the payload intact to add to your overall inventory for the next go around.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2025
And so the path forward boils down to mitigating risk, which is sad and frustrating.
—Lawrence Cappello, Time, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for boil down
Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 9 May 2025
Motivation to lead boils down to two factors: The need to achieve (e.g., prestige) – Some people are motivated by the chance to make an impact, improve the world, push for progress.
—London Business School, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
The core gameplay loop boils down to creeping through buildings, killing CPU enemies, and hopefully avoiding getting shot in the back of the head by another team long enough to escape with the payload intact to add to your overall inventory for the next go around.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2025
And so the path forward boils down to mitigating risk, which is sad and frustrating.
—Lawrence Cappello, Time, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for boil down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boil down
Verb
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Professionals across industries rely on these systems to draft emails, generate reports, summarize data, and even brainstorm ideas.—
Robert B. Tucker,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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In a recent review paper, our team summarized how chronic stress is a hidden but powerful factor underlying cognitive aging, or the speed at which your cognitive performance slows down with age.—
Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland,
The Conversation,
28 May 2025
Verb
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On Monday, investors took note of the risks Moody’s outlined in explaining its decision to downgrade US debt to one notch below perfect.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
20 May 2025
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Physicist Matthew von Hippel looks not at the birth of the universe but at its destruction, outlining a disastrous world-ending scenario that makes asteroid strikes and Earth-colliding black holes look like kid stuff.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Boil down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boil%20down. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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