soft-boiled egg

Meaning

An egg cooked in its shell in boiling water for a short time, resulting in a solidified white but a warm, liquid or runny yolk. It is often served in an egg cup and eaten with strips of toasted bread.

Examples

• He loves dipping toast into a warm, runny soft-boiled egg.

  He loves dipping toast into a warm, runny soft-boiled egg.

• A perfect soft-boiled egg usually takes about five to six minutes to cook.

  A perfect soft-boiled egg usually takes about five to six minutes to cook.

• She served the soft-boiled egg in a cute ceramic egg cup.

  She served the soft-boiled egg in a cute ceramic egg cup.

• Ramen is often topped with a seasoned, marinated soft-boiled egg.

  Ramen is often topped with a seasoned, marinated soft-boiled egg.

• Be careful when peeling a soft-boiled egg, as the center is still very delicate.

  Be careful when peeling a soft-boiled egg, as the center is still very delicate.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I prefer a soft boil egg in the morning.

  ✓ I prefer a soft-boiled egg in the morning.

  'Soft-boiled' requires the past participle '-ed' ending to function properly as an adjective.

• ✗ Can I have a half-boiled egg?

  ✓ Can I have a soft-boiled egg?

  While 'half-boiled' is understood in some regional dialects, 'soft-boiled' is the standard term in global English.

Related Expressions

Practice

• She dipped her toast into the warm yolk of her ___.

  💡 An egg with a firm white but liquid yolk.

  Show answer

  soft-boiled egg

• To get a nice, runny center, boil the egg for just five minutes to make a ___.

  💡 Not hard-boiled, but...

  Show answer

  soft-boiled egg