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noun

Anatomy, Zoology.

one of the structures composing the skeleton of a vertebrate.

the hard connective tissue forming the substance of the skeleton of most vertebrates, composed of a collagen-rich organic matrix impregnated with calcium, phosphate, and other minerals.

such a structure from an edible animal, usually with meat adhering to it, as an article of food: Pea soup should be made with a ham bone.

any of various similarly hard or structural animal substances, as ivory or whalebone.

something made of or resembling such a substance.

a small concession, intended to pacify or quiet; a conciliatory bribe or gift: The administration threw the student protesters a couple of bones, but refused to make any basic changes in the curriculum or requirements.

bones.

the skeleton.

a body: Let his bones rest in peace.

Games Slang. dice.

( initial capital letter ) Mr. Bones.

a simple rhythm instrument consisting of two sometimes curved bars or short strips of bone, ivory, wood, or the like, held between the fingers of one hand and clacked together.

the color of bone; ivory or off-white.

a flat strip of whalebone or other material for stiffening corsets, petticoats, etc.; stay.

Games Slang. a domino.

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verb (used with object)

10.

to remove the bones from: to bone a turkey.

11.

to put whalebone or another stiffener into (clothing).

12.

Agriculture. to put bone meal into (feed, fertilizer, etc.).

00:10

Bone up is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

adverb

13.

completely; absolutely: bone tired.

Idioms

14.

bone up, Informal. to study intensely; cram: We're going to have to bone up for the exam.

15.

feel in one's bones, to think or feel intuitively: She felt in her bones that it was going to be a momentous day.

16.

have a bone to pick with someone, to have cause to disagree or argue with someone: The teacher had a bone to pick with him because his homework paper was identical with his neighbor's.

17.

make no bones about,

to deal with in a direct manner; act or speak openly: He makes no bones about his dislike of modern music.

to have no fear of or objection to.

18.

to the bone,

to the essentials; to the minimum: The government cut social service programs to the bone.

to an extreme degree; thoroughly: chilled to the bone.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English bo(o)n, Old English bān; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon bēn, Dutch been bone, Old Norse bein bone, leg, German Bein leg (-bein bone, in compounds); < Germanic *bainan (neuter), probably orig. past participle (compare Old Irish benaid (he) hews), meaning “lopped off,” from butchering of animals; orig. in phrase *bainan astan lopped-off bone or branch (hence, “leg,” as a branch of the body); replacing *astan bone < Indo-European *Host- (> Latin os(s), Albanian asht, Avestan ast-, Hittite hast-ai), which fell together in Gmc with *astaz branch (> German Ast) < Indo-European *osdos (> Greek ózos, Armenian ost)

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins

World English Dictionary

bone (bəʊn)

—n
1.	any of the various structures that make up the skeleton in most vertebrates
2.	the porous rigid tissue of which these parts are made, consisting of a matrix of collagen and inorganic salts, esp calcium phosphate, interspersed with canals and small holesRelated: osseous, osteal
3.	something consisting of bone or a bonelike substance
4.	(plural) the human skeleton or body: they laid his bones to rest; come and rest your bones
5.	a thin strip of whalebone, light metal, plastic, etc, used to stiffen corsets and brassieres
6.	(plural) the essentials (esp in the phrase the bare bones): to explain the bones of a situation
7.	(plural) dice
8.	(plural) an informal nickname for a doctor
9.	close to the bone, near the bone
	a. risqué or indecent: his jokes are rather close to the bone
	b. in poverty; destitute
10.	feel in one's bones to have an intuition of
11.	have a bone to pick to have grounds for a quarrel
12.	make no bones about
	a. to be direct and candid about
	b. to have no scruples about
13.	(Austral) (often foll by at) point the bone
	a. to wish bad luck (on)
	b. to threaten to bring about the downfall (of)

—vb
14.	to remove the bones from (meat for cooking, etc)
15.	to stiffen (a corset, etc) by inserting bones
16.	to fertilize with bone meal
17.	taboo, slang to have sexual intercourse with
18.	(Brit) a slang word for steal

Related: osseous, osteal

[Old English bān; related to Old Norse béin, Old Frisian bēn, Old High German bein]

'boneless

—*adj*

Bône (French bon)

—n
	a former name of Annaba

bone up

—vb
	informal (adverb; when intr, usually foll by on) to study intensively

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

bone

O.E. ban "bone, tusk," from P.Gmc. *bainam (cf. O.Fris. ben, O.N. bein, Dan. ben, Ger. Bein). No cognates outside Germanic (the common PIE root is *os-; see osseous); the O.N., Du., and Ger. cognates also mean "shank of the leg," and this is the main meaning in Mod.Ger.,

but English never seems to have had this sense.

bone

Especially in bone up "study," 1880s student slang, probably from "Bohn's Classical Library," a popular series in higher education published by German-born Eng. publisher Henry George Bohn (17961884) as part of a broad series of "libraries" he issued from 1846, totaling 766 volumes, continued after 1864

by G. Bell & Sons.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

bone (bōn)
n.

The dense, semirigid, porous, calcified connective tissue forming the major portion of the skeleton of most vertebrates, consisting of a dense organic matrix and an inorganic, mineral component.
Any of the more than 200 anatomically distinct structures making up the human skeleton.
A piece of bone.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

bone

(bōn) Pronunciation Key

The hard, dense, calcified tissue that forms the skeleton of most vertebrates, consisting of a matrix made up of collagen fibers and mineral salts. There are two main types of bone structure: compact, which is solid and hard, and cancellous, which is spongy in appearance. Bone serves as a framework for the attachment of muscles and protects vital organs, such as the brain, heart, and lungs. See more at osteoblast , osteocyte.
Any of the structures made of bone that constitute a skeleton, such as the femur. The human skeleton consists of 206 bones.

Slang Dictionary

bone definition

n.
a trombone. (Musicians. See also bones.) : She plays the bone like nobody's business.
Go to boner. :

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

bone up

Study intensely, as in I'll have to bone up on my Spanish if I'm to pass the language requirement. The verb bone alone was used in this sense from the mid-1800s on, up being added later. [Slang; late 1800s]

Matching Quote

"Lift my head, help me up,
I am bruised, bone and flesh;
chafe my white hands, my servants...."

-Hilda Doolittle

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