bone
bone — noun
- bonesingular
- bonesplural
1. one of the solid parts inside a person or animal that join together to support t
one of the solid parts inside a person or animal that join together to support the body.
Christopher broke a bone in his foot during the school basketball final.
break a bone + body part
The museum displayed whale bones beside old fishing tools from the coast.
bones of an animal in a museum setting
Doctors checked Nora's wrist bone after she slipped on the wet stairs.
A puppy's bones are still growing, so rough jumps can cause damage.
bones growing in a young animal
- break a bone
- bone pain
- bone growth
Grammar Patterns
break a bone
see a bone on an X-ray
Usage Note
Usually countable when you mean one part of a skeleton. In everyday English it often appears in phrases like break a bone, bone pain, or bone growth.
2. the hard piece inside meat or fish that you remove or eat around.
the hard piece inside meat or fish that you remove or eat around.
Be careful with the fish, because a small bone can catch in your throat.
fish bone + catch in the throat
Ignacio cut the meat from the bone and added it to the soup.
meat from the bone
Noa spat out the chicken bone before taking another bite of rice.
The cook warned us that the stew still had tiny bones in it.
tiny bones in cooked food
- fish bone
- meat on the bone
- chicken bone
Grammar Patterns
meat on the bone
fish bone in the throat
Usage Note
Often appears with meat, fish, chicken, or throat. Distinguish from sense 1, which is about the body structure itself rather than food on a plate.
3. a rhythm instrument made from two hard pieces that are clicked together in the f
a rhythm instrument made from two hard pieces that are clicked together in the fingers.
At the folk festival, Lukas kept the rhythm by clicking a pair of bones.
a pair of bones in folk music
The music teacher showed Mia how bones sound different from wooden spoons.
bones as a named instrument
A street performer played the bones beside the drum and fiddle.
Rohan bought a pair of plastic bones after joining a folk dance group.
buy a pair of bones for performance
- play the bones
- pair of bones
Grammar Patterns
play the bones
a pair of bones
Usage Note
Usually used in the plural as the name of the instrument. It is most often mentioned in folk, traditional, or street-music settings.
4. the hard tissue that forms bones, or a similar hard animal material.
the hard tissue that forms bones, or a similar hard animal material.
The archaeologist tested the bone to see how old the buried animal was.
bone as material for testing
The knife handle was carved from polished bone, not from plastic.
made from bone
Old surgeons once used tools made from bone and metal.
The lab compares human bone with ivory to identify ancient objects.
compare bone with other hard animal materials
- bone tissue
- made of bone
- human bone
Grammar Patterns
made of bone
human bone
Usage Note
This is a material sense, so bone usually behaves like an uncountable noun here. It often appears in science, archaeology, or descriptions of carved objects.
5. the main structure or most important facts of something, before extra detail is
the main structure or most important facts of something, before extra detail is added.
The first email gave us the bones of the proposal, but not the cost.
the bones of + plan or proposal
Her outline had the bones of a strong speech for the student rally.
bones of a speech
We could see the bones of the new policy, even before the details arrived.
The novel's last chapter reveals the bones of the family's long secret.
bones of a story or secret
- the bones of a plan
- the bones of a story
- the bones of an argument
Grammar Patterns
the bones of a plan
the bones of a story
Usage Note
Most often used in the plural, especially in the bones of something. It refers to the structure or key facts, not the final polished version.
6. a pale off-white colour with a slight yellow or beige tone.
a pale off-white colour with a slight yellow or beige tone.
She chose bone curtains to make the small room look warmer.
bone + noun in interior design
The tiles were bone rather than pure white, so the kitchen felt softer.
bone as a colour name after be
Brooke wore a bone sweater with dark green trousers to the interview.
The designer mixed bone paint with soft grey for the hallway walls.
bone as a paint colour
- bone white
- bone china shade
- bone fabric
Grammar Patterns
bone curtains
tiles were bone
Usage Note
Usually appears in design, paint, or clothing descriptions. It is softer and slightly warmer than plain white.
a bag of bones
idiomsomeone or an animal that is so thin their bones seem to show.
After the long illness, the stray dog looked like a bag of bones.
the simplest facts or structure of something, without extra detail.
The email gave us the bare bones of the schedule before the meeting.
a bone of contention
idioman issue that keeps making people disagree.
Parking fees remain a bone of contention between the tenants and the owner.
close to the bone
idiomso direct or rude that it is likely to upset or embarrass people.
His joke was close to the bone, and half the table went quiet.
to reduce something to the smallest amount possible.
The company pared travel costs to the bone after sales dropped sharply.
to feel completely sure something is true without being able to prove it.
Mia felt it in her bones that the train would be late again.
to want to speak to someone angrily about something they did.
I have a bone to pick with you about yesterday's missing keys.
determined to keep chasing something and not let it go.
Once Vikram found the error, he was like a dog with a bone.
to say or do something openly and without hesitation.
The coach made no bones about dropping lazy players from the squad.
to completely lack a particular quality.
Lotte does not have a selfish bone in her body.
to add details that make a simple idea or plan more complete.
Today's workshop will put flesh on the bones of last week's proposal.
extremely thin in a way that looks unhealthy.
By the end of winter, the abandoned horse was skin and bone.
to give someone a small part of what they want, but not the main thing.
Management threw the staff a bone by adding two more vacation days.
to the bone
idiomvery deeply or strongly.
The icy rain chilled us to the bone before dawn.
to work extremely hard for a long time.
Her parents worked their fingers to the bone to keep the shop open.
bone — verb
- bonepresent simple I / you / we / they
- bones3rd person singular
- boning-ing form
- bonedpast simple
1. to strip the hard inner pieces out of meat or fish before cooking or serving it.
to strip the hard inner pieces out of meat or fish before cooking or serving it.
The chef boned the trout before filling it with herbs and lemon.
bone + fish before cooking
Walid asked the butcher to bone the lamb for a weekend roast.
bone + meat for a roast
Please bone the chicken carefully, so the skin stays in one piece.
The factory bones thousands of fish each day before freezing them.
industrial food-processing use
- bone a fish
- bone a chicken
- bone a leg of lamb
- debone
more technical and especially common in recipes or food packaging
Grammar Patterns
bone + fish or meat
bone before cooking
Usage Note
Almost always takes meat or fish as its object. It is common in cooking, butchery, and food-processing contexts rather than everyday conversation.
2. to sleep with someone, expressed in a crude and offensive way.
to sleep with someone, expressed in a crude and offensive way.
In the crude comedy, the drunk man bragged that he wanted to bone the waitress.
offensive slang in reported speech
The teacher reported Liam after he yelled a line about boning his ex online.
boning used as a slang gerund
The subtitle softened the scene where a soldier said he had boned a stranger.
The actor apologized after a leaked clip showed him joking about boning a classmate.
boning in scandal-report context
- bone somebody
- boning somebody
Grammar Patterns
bone + person
Usage Note
Highly offensive. It usually appears in crude jokes, aggressive speech, or subtitles that are trying to show vulgar slang.
3. to study very hard for a test or another demanding task.
to study very hard for a test or another demanding task.
Noor boned all weekend before the medical entrance exam.
bone before an exam
During finals week, Otis boned in the library until midnight each night.
bone in the library until late
We had to bone fast after the teacher moved the history test forward.
Apinya boned for three straight nights before the law licensing exam.
bone for nights before an exam
- bone before finals
- bone all weekend
- cram
more common and more clearly tied to last-minute exam study
Grammar Patterns
bone before an exam
bone late into the night
Usage Note
Informal and uncommon on its own. It refers to intense preparation, especially before an exam, and is more likely in American slang.
bone — adverb
1. used before some adjectives to mean completely or extremely.
used before some adjectives to mean completely or extremely.
After the night hike, Joshua was bone tired and barely finished dinner.
bone + tired
By August, the rice field looked bone dry after six weeks without rain.
bone + dry
The climbers were bone cold when the rescue boat finally reached them.
After the twelve-hour shift, the nurses looked bone tired in the dawn light.
bone + tired after long work
- bone dry
- bone tired
- bone cold
Grammar Patterns
bone + adjective
Usage Note
This intensifier is limited to certain fixed combinations such as bone dry, bone tired, and bone cold. It is not freely used before most adjectives.
Etymology
Bone comes from Old English ban, a very old Germanic word for the hard parts of a body. Related forms appear across early Germanic languages, which shows that the word has been part of everyday English for well over a thousand years.
First known use
12th century
12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Verb