Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Bone

//bəʊn// adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of an off-white colour, like the colour of bone. not-comparable

Adjective

1
consisting of or made up of bone wordnet

Adverb

1
Used before an adjective as an intensifier not-comparable
"GWF, well almost anyway, 40, bone-lonely, desperately needs a friend in Southern Maine."

Proper Noun

1
A surname. countable, uncountable
2
An unincorporated community in Bonneville County, Idaho, United States, named after Orion Jost Bone. countable, uncountable

Noun

1
A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates. uncountable
"Ne take noon hede to brynge togidere þe parties of þe boon þat is to-broken or dislocate, til viij. daies ben goon in þe wyntir, & v. in þe somer; for þanne it schal make quytture, and be sikir from swellynge; & þanne brynge togidere þe brynkis eiþer þe disiuncture after þe techynge þat schal be seid in þe chapitle of algebra."
2
Clipping of trombone. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, slang
3
a shade of white the color of bleached bones wordnet
4
Any of the components of an endoskeleton, made of this material. countable
"No Trophee, Sword, nor Hatchment o're his bones."
5
rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates wordnet

Show 14 more definitions

6
A bone of a fish; a fishbone. countable, uncountable
7
the porous calcified substance from which bones are made wordnet
8
A bonefish. countable, uncountable
"The reason I rarely fish for Mag Bay bones with a 5-weight or 6-weight is the number of fish that can turn light stuff inside out."
9
One of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame, the boning, originally made of whalebone. countable, uncountable
10
One of the fragments of bone held between the fingers of the hand and rattled together to keep time to music. countable, uncountable
11
Anything made of bone, such as a bobbin for weaving bone lace. countable, uncountable
12
The framework of anything. countable, figuratively, uncountable
13
An off-white colour, like the typical colour of bone. countable, uncountable
14
A dollar. US, countable, in-plural, informal, uncountable
15
The wishbone formation. countable, informal, uncountable
16
An erect penis; a boner. countable, slang, uncountable
"Speakin' on the phone, for hours on end / On the bone from just listenin', and then:"
17
A domino or die. countable, in-plural, slang, uncountable
"Let's head to the casino and roll them bones!"
18
A cannabis cigarette; a joint. countable, slang, uncountable
"In between sets I took her outside, sat against a fence near the dumpster, and smoked a bone with her."
19
A reward. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"When I'm a good dog they sometimes throw me a bone in"

Verb

1
To prepare (meat, etc) by removing the bone or bones from.
"One of the fish stalls specialized in boning shad, and he who has never eaten a boned shad baked twenty minutes on a hot oak plank has been deprived of the most delicious morsel that the ocean yields."
2
To apprehend, steal. slang, transitive
"“Did I?” said Squeers, “Well it was rather a startling thing for a stranger to come and recommend himself by saying that he knew all about you, and what your name was, and why you were living so quiet here, and what you had boned, and who you had boned it from.”"
3
To sight along an object or set of objects to check whether they are level or in line.
"Joiners, &c., bone their work with two straight edges."
4
remove the bones from wordnet
5
To fertilize with bone.
"He cites an instance of land heavily boned 70 years ago as “still markedly luxuriant beyond any other grass land in the same district.”"

Show 8 more definitions

6
study intensively, as before an exam wordnet
7
To put whalebone into.
"Having my stays very fully boned and fitted with shoulder-straps."
8
To make level, using a particular procedure; to survey a level line.
"boning rod"
9
To have sexual intercourse (with). ambitransitive, slang, usually, vulgar
"O Memmius, well and slowly did you bone me, supine, day by day, with the whole of that beam."
10
To perform “bone pointing”, a ritual that is intended to bring illness or even death to the victim. Australia, dated
"“You don’t know!”, Bony echoed. “You can tell me who boned me fifteen years ago on the other side of the world, and you can’t tell me who killed the white-fella in the Crater”."
11
To study. usually
"bone up"
12
To polish boots to a shiny finish.
"[…] the permanent boning (excessive polishing) of boots by recruits […]"
13
To nag, especially for an unpaid debt.
"Dix Handley: Don’t bone me! Cobby: Now look, I’m not boning you, Dix— Dix: Did I ever welsh? Cobby: Nobody said you did— Dix: You just boned me!"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English bon, from Old English bān (“bone, tusk; the bone of a limb”), from Proto-Germanic *bainą (“bone”), from *bainaz (“straight”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike, beat”). Cognate with Scots bane, been, bean, bein, bain (“bone”), North Frisian bian, Biin, biinj (“bone; leg”), West Frisian bien (“bone”), Dutch been (“bone; leg”), German Low German Been, Bein (“bone”), German Bein (“leg”), German Gebein (“bones”), Swedish ben (“bone; leg”), Norwegian and Icelandic bein (“bone”), Breton benañ (“to cut, hew”), Latin perfinēs (“break through, break into pieces, shatter”), Avestan 𐬠𐬫𐬈𐬥𐬙𐬈 (byente, “they fight, hit”). Related also to Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”) (whence Middle English bain, bayne, bayn, beyn (“direct, prompt”), Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”)), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See bain, bein.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

Etymology 5

Unknown; probably related in some way to Etymology 1, above.

Etymology 6

Borrowed from French bornoyer (“to look at with one eye, to sight”), from borgne (“one-eyed”).

Etymology 7

Clipping of trombone.

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: bone