■ noun
1》 any of the pieces of hard, whitish tissue making up the skeleton in vertebrates.
↘( one's ~s ) one's body.
2》 the calcified material of which ~s consist.
↘a thing made of a substance resembling ~, e.g. a strip of stiffening for an undergarment.
3》 (in southern Africa) one of a set of carved dice or ~s used by traditional healers in divination.
■ verb
1》 remove the ~s from (meat or fish) before cooking.
2》 ( ~ up on ) informal study (a subject) intensively.
Phrases
~ of contention a source of continuing disagreement.
close to the ~ (of a remark) accurate to the point of causing discomfort.
↘(of a joke or story) near the limit of decency.
cut (or pare ) something to the ~ reduce something to the bare minimum.
have a ~ to pick with someone informal have reason to disagree or be annoyed with someone.
in one's ~s felt or believed deeply or instinctively.
make no ~s about have no hesitation in stating or dealing with (something unpleasant).
off (or on ) the ~ (of meat or fish) having had the ~s removed (or left in).
to the ~
1》 (of a wound) so deep as to expose a ~.
2》 (especially of cold) affecting a person in a penetrating way.
work one's fingers to the ~ work very hard.
Derivatives
~d adjective
~less adjective
Origin
OE bān , of Gmc origin.