Phrasal verb
bone up
Definition
phrasal verb. to study hard or learn a lot about a specific subject in a short time.
phrasal verb. to review or study a particular subject intensively, often in preparation for an imminent event or requirement.
Examples
“I need to bone up on my French before my trip.”
“He spent the entire weekend boning up on tax law before his big meeting with the accountants.”
“The candidate spent weeks boning up on regional economic policies to ensure she could handle the rigorous questioning during the televised debate.”
Examples
simple
“I need to bone up on my French before my trip.”
contextual
“He spent the entire weekend boning up on tax law before his big meeting with the accountants.”
complex
“The candidate spent weeks boning up on regional economic policies to ensure she could handle the rigorous questioning during the televised debate.”
Usage
usually followed by the preposition 'on' before the subject being studied.
Teaching tip
explain that this is an informal Americanism; the 'bone' likely refers to 'bony' fingers or hard work, similar to 'cramming' but often implies a more targeted review.
Pitfall
I must bone up my history.
I must bone up on my history.
the preposition 'on' is almost always required when specifying the subject of study.
Phrasal verb
Particles
up
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
bone + up + on + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/bone-up