# bone

/ˈboʊn/ (US) · /bˈəʊn/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bone
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. part of the skeleton

noun · CEFR A2

one of the hard, white pieces that make up the frame of a person's or animal's body.

For teachers: any of the individual rigid components of the vertebrate endoskeleton, composed of calcium phosphate and collagen.

- The doctor showed me the X-ray of the broken bone in my arm.
- The forensic anthropologist examined the pelvic bone to determine the approximate age and sex of the remains found at the site.

### 2. the material

noun · CEFR B1

the hard substance that skeletons are made of.

For teachers: the dense, semi-rigid calcified connective tissue forming the substance of the skeleton.

- The handle of the old knife was made of carved bone.
- Microscopic analysis revealed that the bone had begun to lose density, a common indicator of long-term nutritional deficiency.

### 3. money

noun · CEFR C1 · American English · Slang · Informal

a slang word for a dollar.

For teachers: a slang term for a dollar, typically used in the plural.

- The concert ticket cost me fifty bones, but it was worth it.
- He claimed the entire repair job would only set me back twenty bones, which seemed suspiciously cheap for such extensive damage.

### 4. to remove bones

verb · CEFR B2

to take the bones out of meat or fish before cooking it.

For teachers: to remove the skeletal remains from meat, poultry, or fish during food preparation.

- You should bone the chicken thighs before you put them in the stew.
- The chef demonstrated how to bone a leg of lamb with a sharp knife, ensuring minimal waste of the prime cuts.

### 5. to have sex

verb · CEFR C2 · Slang · Vulgar

a very informal and rude way to say 'have sex with someone'.

For teachers: to engage in sexual intercourse; a vulgar slang term often used transitively.

- They were caught boning in the back of the car.
- The film relied heavily on crude humor, featuring several scenes where characters joked about who they wanted to bone.

### 6. colour

adjective · CEFR B2

a very pale, off-white colour like the colour of a bone.

For teachers: denoting a specific shade of off-white or light greyish-yellow.

- She chose a bone-coloured dress for the summer wedding.
- The interior designer suggested bone silk curtains to complement the darker mahogany furniture in the study.

### 7. completely

adverb · CEFR B2 · Informal

used before some adjectives like 'dry' or 'idle' to mean 'completely'.

For teachers: used as an intensifier before specific adjectives, most commonly 'dry' or 'idle'.

- The ground was bone dry after three months without any rain.
- Despite the heavy downpour earlier that morning, the sheltered porch remained bone dry throughout the storm.

## Examples

- The doctor checked the broken bone in my arm.
- Archaeologists discovered several ancient animal bones buried deep beneath the floor of the cave.
- The architect argued that the steel beams formed the bones of the building, providing a structural integrity that allowed for the expansive glass walls.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.