hard-boiled egg

Meaning

An egg that has been cooked in its shell in boiling water until both the white and the yolk are completely solid. They are highly portable, nutritious, and commonly eaten as snacks, in salads, or for breakfast.

Examples

• I usually pack a hard-boiled egg in my lunch for a quick protein boost.

  I usually pack a hard-boiled egg in my lunch for a quick protein boost.

• To make a perfect hard-boiled egg, boil it for about nine to ten minutes.

  To make a perfect hard-boiled egg, boil it for about nine to ten minutes.

• Peeling a hard-boiled egg is much easier if you plunge it into ice water first.

  Peeling a hard-boiled egg is much easier if you plunge it into ice water first.

• She chopped up a hard-boiled egg to put on top of her spinach salad.

  She chopped up a hard-boiled egg to put on top of her spinach salad.

• Are those eggs in the fridge raw, or is there a hard-boiled egg in there?

  Are those eggs in the fridge raw, or is there a hard-boiled egg in there?

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I boiled a hard egg for breakfast.

  ✓ I boiled a hard-boiled egg for breakfast.

  'Hard egg' is not a standard English term. You must use the compound adjective 'hard-boiled'.

• ✗ He likes eating hard boiling eggs.

  ✓ He likes eating hard-boiled eggs.

  Use the past participle 'boiled' to describe the completed state of cooking, not the present participle 'boiling'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I sliced a ___ to add some protein to my garden salad.

  💡 An egg cooked until both yolk and white are solid.

  Show answer

  hard-boiled egg

• If you cook it for ten minutes, you will get a perfect ___.

  💡 A fully cooked whole egg.

  Show answer

  hard-boiled egg