n.
Pronunciation: ' b ō n
Function: noun
Usage: often attrib
Etymology: Middle English bon, from Old English b ā n; akin to Old High German & Old Norse bein bone, and perhaps to Old Irish benaid he hews
Date: before 12th century
1 a : one of the hard parts of the skeleton of a vertebrate b : any of various hard animal substances or structures (as baleen or ivory) akin to or resembling bone c : the hard largely calcareous connective tissue of which the adult skeleton of most vertebrates is chiefly composed
2 a : ESSENCE , CORE <cut costs to the bone > <a liberal to the bone > b : the most deeply ingrained part : HEART ― usually used in plural <knew in his bone s that it was wrong>
3 plural a (1) : SKELETON (2) : BODY <rested my weary bone s > (3) : CORPSE <inter a person's bone s > b : the basic design or framework (as of a play or novel)
4 : MATTER , SUBJECT <a bone of contention>
5 a plural : thin bars of bone, ivory, or wood held in pairs between the fingers and used to produce musical rhythms b : a strip of material (as whalebone or steel) used to stiffen a garment (as a corset) c plural : DICE
6 : something that is designed to placate : SOP
7 : a light beige
8 : INCLINATION 1B <hadn't a political bone in his body ― John Hersey>
9 slang : DOLLAR
– boned \ ' b ō nd \ adjective
– bone · less \ ' b ō n-l ə s \ adjective
– bone to pick : a matter to argue or complain about