Adjacent Words

Boiler definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BOIL'ER, n. A person who boils.
1. A vessel in which any thing is boiled. A large pan, or vessel of iron, copper or brass, used in distilleries, pot-ash works and the like, for boiling large quantities of liquor at once.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: sealed vessel where water is converted to steam [syn: boiler, steam boiler]
2: a metal pot for stewing or boiling; usually has a lid [syn: kettle, boiler]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: circa 1540 1. one that boils 2. a. a vessel used for boiling b. the part of a steam generator in which water is converted into steam and which consists usually of metal shells and tubes c. a tank in which water is heated or hot water is stored

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a fuel-burning apparatus for heating a hot-water supply. 2 a tank for heating water, esp. for turning it to steam under pressure. 3 a metal tub for boiling laundry etc. 4 a fowl, vegetable, etc., suitable for cooking only by boiling. Phrases and idioms: boiler-room a room with a boiler and other heating equipment, esp. in the basement of a large building. boiler suit a one-piece suit worn as overalls for heavy manual work.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Boiler Boil"er, n. A sunken reef; esp., a coral reef on which the sea breaks heavily.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Boiler Boil"er, n. 1. One who boils. 2. A vessel in which any thing is boiled. Note: The word boiler is a generic term covering a great variety of kettles, saucepans, clothes boilers, evaporators, coppers, retorts, etc. 3. (Mech.) A strong metallic vessel, usually of wrought iron plates riveted together, or a composite structure variously formed, in which steam is generated for driving engines, or for heating, cooking, or other purposes. Note: The earliest steam boilers were usually spheres or sections of spheres, heated wholly from the outside. Watt used the wagon boiler (shaped like the top of a covered wagon) which is still used with low pressures. Most of the boilers in present use may be classified as plain cylinder boilers, flue boilers, sectional and tubular boilers. Barrel of a boiler, the cylindrical part containing the flues. Boiler plate, Boiler iron, plate or rolled iron of about a quarter to a half inch in thickness, used for making boilers and tanks, for covering ships, etc. Cylinder boiler, one which consists of a single iron cylinder. Flue boilers are usually single shells containing a small number of large flues, through which the heat either passes from the fire or returns to the chimney, and sometimes containing a fire box inclosed by water. Locomotive boiler, a boiler which contains an inclosed fire box and a large number of small flues leading to the chimney. Multiflue boiler. Same as Tubular boiler, below. Sectional boiler, a boiler composed of a number of sections, which are usually of small capacity and similar to, and connected with, each other. By multiplication of the sections a boiler of any desired capacity can be built up. Tubular boiler, a boiler containing tubes which form flues, and are surrounded by the water contained in the boiler. See Illust. of Steam boiler, under Steam. Tubulous boiler. See under Tubulous. See Tube, n., 6, and 1st Flue.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(boilers) A boiler is a device which burns gas, oil, electricity, or coal in order to provide hot water, especially for the central heating in a building. N-COUNT