come to a boil

• come to the boil

come to a boil (third-person singular simple present comes to a boil, present participle coming to a boil, simple past came to a boil, past participle come to a boil)

1. To begin to boil.

   I put some water in a saucepan and it came to a boil fairly quickly.

2. (figurative) To reach a critical point; come to a head.