# bone

Pronunciation: say "BOHN" US /boʊn/, UK /bəʊn/, AUS /bəʉn/

## Noun

1. Any of the hard, rigid pieces that together make up the internal skeleton of a person or animal.
   - Simple: One of the hard, white parts inside the body of a person or animal.
   - _Surgeons inserted a metal pin to hold the shattered bone in place._
   - _Archaeologists identified the animal from a single bone found at the site._
2. The hard material, made mostly of calcium phosphate and collagen, that forms the skeleton of most vertebrates.
   - Simple: The hard, white material that makes up the skeleton of people and animals.
   - _Unlike cartilage, bone contains a dense mineral component that makes it rigid._
   - _Healthy bone constantly renews itself as cells break down and rebuild its tissue._
3. The supporting framework or essential underlying structure of something.
   - Simple: The basic frame or main parts that hold something together.
   - _Beneath all the subplots, the bones of the novel are a simple revenge story._
   - _Volunteers are the bone and sinew of every small charity._
6. A small reward or concession given to satisfy or placate someone.
   - Simple: A small reward or treat given to make someone happy.
   - _Management tossed the union a bone to delay the strike._
   - _Critics called the small tax rebate a bone thrown to voters just before the election._
9. An off-white color resembling the typical shade of bone.
   - Simple: A pale, creamy white color, like the usual color of bone.
   - _The palette ranged from bone to deep charcoal._
   - _Bone reads as more sophisticated than stark white in a bedroom._
11. A slang term for a man's erect penis. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A slang word for a man's penis when it is stiff.
   - _He turned away from her, embarrassed by the bone straining against his jeans._
   - _A cold shower finally took care of his bone._
12. A single US dollar. *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: One dollar.
   - _The cover charge is twenty bones at the door._
   - _I wouldn't pay forty bones for that cheap knockoff watch._
13. A hand-rolled cannabis cigarette; a joint. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A hand-rolled cigarette made with cannabis.
   - _Someone lit a bone at the back of the party._
   - _She offered him a bone, but he was driving and declined._
14. Short for trombone: a brass instrument with a sliding tube, in casual use among musicians. *(slang)* — Clipping of trombone.
   - Simple: Short for trombone: a brass instrument played by sliding a tube, in musicians' slang.
   - _The bone player slid into a low, growling note._
   - _He switched from trumpet to bone in his second year._
15. One of a pair of small pieces of bone or wood held between the fingers and clacked together to beat time to music.
   - Simple: One of two small pieces held between the fingers and clicked together to keep a beat.
   - _Gripping one bone between his first and second fingers and another between his second and third, he clacked out a lively rhythm for the fiddler._
   - _The street musician rattled a pair of bones along with the fiddle._
16. One of the rigid strips that form the frame of a corset, collectively called the boning.
   - Simple: One of the stiff strips that give a corset its shape.
   - _One bone in the corset had bent badly out of shape._
   - _The dressmaker replaced the broken bones with thin steel strips._
17. A domino tile or a die, especially as used in games of chance. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A single domino tile or dice cube used in a game.
   - _She set down a bone to match the open end of the line._
   - _He shook the bones and let them tumble across the felt._

## Adverb

4. Used before certain adjectives to mean 'completely' or 'utterly'.
   - Simple: Completely or totally, used before certain words to make them stronger.
   - _The well had run bone dry by August._
   - _He was too bone idle to fix the leaking faucet._

## Verb

5. To prepare meat or fish by removing its bone or bones.
   - Simple: To take the bones out of meat or fish.
   - _The chef will bone the leg of lamb before stuffing it._
   - _He boned three trout in under a minute._
7. To study, especially closely or intensively.
   - Simple: To study very hard, especially before a test.
   - _Before her job interview, she spent a week boning up on the company's history and products._
   - _Anyone planning to drive abroad should bone up on the local traffic laws first._
10. To have sexual intercourse with someone; a vulgar slang verb. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude slang word meaning to have sex with someone.
   - _She made it clear she only wanted to bone, nothing serious._
   - _Rumor had it the two coworkers were boning after hours._
18. To fit a garment such as a corset or bodice with stiff strips, traditionally of whalebone and now usually of steel or plastic.
   - Simple: To sew stiff strips into clothing, like a corset, so it keeps its shape.
   - _The tailor boned the gown's bodice to keep it firm._
   - _Seamstresses bone these jackets along the seams for structure._

## Adjective

8. Of an off-white color resembling the shade of bone.
   - Simple: Having a pale, creamy white color, like an old bone.
   - _The designer chose bone linen for the dining chairs._
   - _Her dress was a warm bone shade that flattered her skin._

## Verb

19. To steal something, or to catch and arrest a person. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To steal something, or to catch and arrest someone.
20. To perform bone pointing, a ritual intended to bring sickness or death upon its victim. *(dated, Australia)*
   - Simple: To point a bone at someone in a ritual believed to make them sick or even die.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Any article made of bone, such as a bobbin used in weaving bone lace.
- (noun) An offensive formation in football in which a fullback and two halfbacks line up in a Y shape behind the quarterback, resembling a wishbone.
- (noun) A bonefish, a silvery game fish found on warm, shallow coastal flats and prized by sport anglers.
- (verb) To polish boots to a high, glossy shine.
- (verb) To nag someone repeatedly, especially to collect an unpaid debt.
- (verb) To check or set out a level or straight line by sighting along posts, rods, or other objects.
- (verb) To enrich soil by adding ground bone as a fertilizer.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–13, 15–18, 20** — Old English bān, which meant "bone" or "tusk" and also "the bone of a limb," became Middle English bon. Behind it is *bainą, Proto-Germanic for "bone," which came from *bainaz ("straight") and may go back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to hit, strike, beat." Dutch been, German Bein ("leg"), and Swedish ben are related.
**Meaning 19** — Of unknown origin, though it is probably related in some way to the first etymology of bone.
**Meaning 14** — A clipping of trombone.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bone (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).