This week’s theme
Words from chemistry

This week’s words
litmus test
flashpoint
chain reaction
borax
boiling point


This week’s comments
AWADmail 1032

Next week’s theme
Eponyms

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(BOI-ling point)

MEANING:

noun:
1. The point at which a situation turns into a crisis.
2. The point at which one loses one’s temper.
3. The temperature at which a liquid boils.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old French boillir, from Latin bullire (to bubble), from bulla (bubble). Earliest documented use: 1773.

USAGE:

“Before the unrest, NGOs working in townships warned of simmering tensions taken to boiling point by Covid-19.”
The Shaming of South Africa: The Economist (London, UK); Jul 24, 2021.

See more usage examples of boiling point in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: