bone

1 of 3

noun

often attributive
1
a
: one of the hard parts of the skeleton of a vertebrate
b
: any of various hard animal substances or structures (such as baleen or ivory) akin to or resembling bone
c
: the hard largely calcareous connective tissue of which the adult skeleton of most vertebrates is chiefly composed
2
a
: essence, core
cut costs to the bone
a liberal to the bone
b
: the most deeply ingrained part : heart
usually used in plural
knew in his bones that it was wrong
3
bones plural
a(1)
(2)
: body
rested my weary bones
(3)
: corpse
inter a person's bones
b
: the basic design or framework (as of a play or novel)
4
: matter, subject
a bone of contention
5
a
bones plural : thin bars of bone, ivory, or wood held in pairs between the fingers and used to produce musical rhythms
b
: a strip of material (such as whalebone or steel) used to stiffen a garment (such as a corset)
c
bones plural : dice
6
: something that is designed to placate : sop
7
: a light beige
8
: inclination sense 4a
hadn't a political bone in his bodyJohn Hersey
9
slang : dollar
boned adjective
boneless adjective

bone

2 of 3

verb

boned; boning

transitive verb

1
: to remove the bones from
bone a fish
2
: to provide (a garment) with stays
3
: 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
4
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
One of the hallmarks of bone cancer is sudden and extreme growth. Detroit Free Press, 14 Mar. 2024 Some symptoms of the disease might include a lump in the arm, leg, chest or pelvis, or a break in a bone. Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2024 Astronauts can even suffer from bone loss during missions. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2024 The bones of her songs stood out, as did her charisma. Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 Elsa Peretti Bone Cuff In the 1970s, the talented jewelry designer Elsa Peretti crafted the viral bone cuff. Alexis Bennett Parker, Vogue, 13 Mar. 2024 After missing four of five games because of a bone bruise in his left knee, Kansas senior guard Kevin McCullar returned to score 39 points combined in a loss to Baylor and victory over Kansas State. Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2024 Galante is being treated for puncture wounds and lacerations to her head, neck, face, and arm, as well as broken bones in her face, per her surgeon, Dr. Jennifer Chen, reports CBS News. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 Merely two hours after the game it was announced that Barnes had suffered a fracture to his third metacarpal bone in his left hand and is now out indefinitely. Esfandiar Baraheni, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024
Verb
As to roasting, Don likes to bone out the chicken or spatchcock it by removing the backbone, before seasoning and rubbing with olive oil and roasting in the oven at 300 degrees for up to three hours. Kim Sunée, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Oct. 2021 It’s the champion of the all-around: agile enough to make delicate work of veggies and sturdy enough to bone a chicken. Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 10 Nov. 2020 But for the rest of the carcass, here in Louisiana, people like to bone it out and grind it. Will Coviello, NOLA.com, 18 Sep. 2020 Whether slicing a tomato or peach for a summertime main dish salad, mincing garlic, or boning fish, there is a perfect knife for the job. Patricia S York, Southern Living, 20 May 2020 To ensure the essential supply of chicken for Canadians across the country, the poultry industry as a whole is shifting away from de-boning chicken legs to increase their production capacity. Shelly Hagan, Bloomberg.com, 5 May 2020 Late at night in November 2011, Ted Flores was coming home from running errands in Highland, Ind., when a car T-boned his at an intersection. Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2019 Place wings bone side down on grill and grill covered 10 min. The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, Good Housekeeping, 1 Apr. 2020 Halfway through the drive, Olomola was T-boned by another automobile. Nick Givas, Fox News, 14 Feb. 2020

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 *bhoi̯H-n-o-, a derivative of a verbal base *bhei̯H- "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 *bhoi̯H-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

Dictionary Entries Near bone

Cite this Entry

“Bone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bone. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bone

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: 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
b
: a hard animal substance (as baleen or ivory) similar to bone
2
: a cause of disagreement
used in the phrases bone of contention and bone to pick
3
plural : something usually or originally made from bone (as dice or clappers)
4
a
: the basic part
cut costs to the bone
b
: the most deeply ingrained part
knew in her bones it was wrong
5
plural : body
rest my weary bones
boneless adjective
bonelike
-ˌlīk
adjective

bone

2 of 2 verb
boned; boning
1
: to remove the bones from
bone a fish
2
: to study hard
bone up on math

Medical Definition

bone

noun
1
: one of the hard parts of the skeleton of a vertebrate
a shoulder bone
the bones of the arm
2
: any of various hard animal substances or structures (as baleen or ivory) akin to or resembling bone
3
: 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

Sir Muirhead 1876–1953 Scottish etcher and painter

More from Merriam-Webster on bone

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