bone

1 of 3

noun

ˈbōn

often attributive

Synonyms of bone next

: one of the hard parts of the skeleton of a vertebrate

: any of various hard animal substances or structures (such as baleen or ivory) akin to or resembling bone

: the hard largely calcareous connective tissue of which the adult skeleton of most vertebrates is chiefly composed

: essence, core

cut costs to the bone

a liberal to the bone

: the most deeply ingrained part : heart

—usually used in plural

knew in his bones that it was wrong

bones plural

a(1)

: skeleton

(2)

: body

rested my weary bones

(3)

: corpse

inter a person's bones

: the basic design or framework (as of a play or novel)

: matter, subject

a bone of contention

bones plural : thin bars of bone, ivory, or wood held in pairs between the fingers and used to produce musical rhythms

: a strip of material (such as whalebone or steel) used to stiffen a garment (such as a corset)

bones plural : dice

: something that is designed to placate : sop

: a light beige

: inclination sense 4a

hadn't a political bone in his body—

John Hersey

slang : dollar

boned

ˈbōnd

adjective

boneless

ˈbōn-ləs

adjective

bone

2 of 3

verb

boned; boning

transitive verb

: to remove the bones from

bone a fish

: to provide (a garment) with stays

: to rub (something, such as a boot or a baseball bat) with something hard (such as a piece of bone) in order to smooth the surface

US, vulgar slang : to have sexual intercourse with (someone)

intransitive verb

: to study hard : grind

bone through medical school

bone

3 of 3

adverb

: extremely, very

bone tired

also : totally

Phrases

bone to pick

: a matter to argue or complain about

Examples of bone in a Sentence

Noun He broke a bone in his left arm. The leg bone is connected to the knee bone. We are all made of flesh and bone. The handle of the knife is made from bone. Adverb The air is bone dry. grew up in a backwoods area that was bone poor

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Among its culinary fortes is tonkotsu ramen, the broth of pork bones (made famous in Los Angeles at specialists like Tsujita) simmered for hours until the liquid basically transforms into meat milk. —

Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024 Read Next ‘Gigantic’ bones stumped experts for centuries. —

Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bone

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bon, going back to Old English bān, going back to Germanic *baina- (whence also Old Frisian & Old Saxon bēn "bone," Old High German bein "bone, leg," Old Norse bein "bone" and probably beinn "straight"), perhaps going back to Indo-European *b^hoi̯H-n-o-, a derivative of a verbal base *b^hei̯H- "strike, hew," whence, with varying suffixation, Old Irish benaid "(s/he) hews, cuts," robíth "(it) has been struck," Middle Breton benaff "(I) cut," Latin perfinēs (glossed by the Roman grammarian Festus as perfringās "you should break") and probably Old Church Slavic bijǫ, biti "to hit"

Note: Germanic lacks an outcome of Indo-European *h₂ost- "bone" (see osteo-), and it has been theorized that the etymon was replaced by *b^hoi̯H-n-o-, used attributively in the sense "broken off," first with Germanic *ast-a- "branch" and then, with homonymous *ast- "bone" (the expected outcome of *h₂ost-); the meaning "straight" seen in Old Norse beinn may have been an intermediary stage.

Verb

derivative of bone entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adverb

circa 1825, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of bone was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing bone

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bone. Accessed 4 May. 2024.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

bone

1 of 2 noun

ˈbōn

: a hard material which is largely calcium phosphate and of which the skeleton of most vertebrate animals is formed

also : one of the hard parts in which this material occurs

break a bone

: a hard animal substance (as baleen or ivory) similar to bone

: a cause of disagreement

—used in the phrases bone of contention and bone to pick

plural : something usually or originally made from bone (as dice or clappers)

: the basic part

cut costs to the bone

: the most deeply ingrained part

knew in her bones it was wrong

plural : body

rest my weary bones

boneless

-ləs

adjective

bonelike

-ˌlīk

adjective

bone

2 of 2 verb

boned; boning

: to remove the bones from

bone a fish

: to study hard

bone up on math

Medical Definition

bone

noun

ˈbōn

: one of the hard parts of the skeleton of a vertebrate

a shoulder bone

the bones of the arm

: any of various hard animal substances or structures (as baleen or ivory) akin to or resembling bone

: the hard largely calcareous connective tissue of which the adult skeleton of most vertebrates is chiefly composed

cancellous bone

compact bone

compare cartilage sense 1

Biographical Definition

Bone

biographical name

ˈbōn

Sir Muirhead 1876–1953 Scottish etcher and painter

Last Updated: 23 Apr 2024 - Updated example sentences

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

agrarian

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

bone

noun

verb

adverb

Synonyms

Examples of bone in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near bone

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition

Biographical Definition

biographical name