Phrasal verb
bone up on
Definition
phrasal verb. to study a specific subject very hard for a short time, usually to prepare for a test or a meeting.
phrasal verb. to study or review information intensively in order to achieve proficiency or readiness for a specific upcoming event; informal register.
Examples
“I need to bone up on my French before my trip to Paris.”
“She spent the entire weekend boning up on the new tax laws before her meeting with the accountants.”
“The legal team had only forty-eight hours to bone up on the technical specifications of the patent before the cross-examination began.”
Examples
simple
“I need to bone up on my French before my trip to Paris.”
contextual
“She spent the entire weekend boning up on the new tax laws before her meeting with the accountants.”
complex
“The legal team had only forty-eight hours to bone up on the technical specifications of the patent before the cross-examination began.”
Usage
informal; almost always followed by the preposition 'on' and a specific topic of study.
Teaching tip
the phrase likely comes from the 19th-century use of 'boney' (studious) or the use of bone-based tools to polish things; it is a more specific, informal version of 'review' or 'study'.
Pitfall
I need to bone up my history.
I need to bone up on my history.
the preposition 'on' is required to connect the verb phrase to the subject being studied.
Phrasal verb
Particles
up on
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
bone + up + on + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/bone-up-on