verb / noun
broil
BROYL/brɔɪl/
To heat intensely by direct radiant heat.
The cook broils the fish beneath a glowing heating element.
Etymology
Old French bruller meant to broil or roast, with an earlier sense of burning. English likewise moved from “burn” to cooking food by direct heat; the deeper origin remains disputed.
In context
broil bacon over an open fire
More examples
- Set the oven to broil until the cheese bubbles.
- We were broiling in the sun while waiting for the bus.
- The intense heat broiled the peppers and blistered their skins.
Forms
broil · broils · broiled · broiling
broiler noun — An appliance or oven compartment for cooking with intense direct heat.
Similar words
- bake
- Uses surrounding oven heat, broil uses strong direct radiant heat.