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to bone

to bone

24 6.6
To remove the hard parts inside meat, fish, or poultry before cooking
  • verb
  • /boʊn/
translation icon : deshuesar
  • Get this book and bone up.
  • bone the chicken
  • bone a duck
  • butcher to bone

Examples

  • At least bone up on the fallacies that apply to most of the goofy.

    Blog text (2)
  • Instead, contact the agency that regulates real estate agents in your state and bone up on the current rules.

    Blog text (31)
  • You might want to bone up on what "hard power" and "soft power" are.

    Blog text (3)
  • You really need to bone up on your American history, fella.

  • Beyond doing your own writing, it would be beneficial to bone up on your reading.

    Blog text (6)
  • As far as how it's allocated, I need to bone up on some accounting sleuthing methods.

    Blog text (23)
  • GOP Rep Vita admitted he needs to "bone up" on the content of the charter.

    Blog text (25)
  • In the meantime, I'm going to bone up on the 22nd Amendment; I'm certain it somehow legalizes guns, too.

    Blog text (5)
  • He learned how to bone the chicken before grilling it for dinner.

  • After catching the fish, she took a moment to bone it carefully to avoid any bones in her dish.

Synonyms

to debone
vsto bone
1 4.4

To remove bones from meat or fish

includes poultry as well and is not limited to meat or fish

Idioms

4 5.2

A subject that causes disagreement between people

Do very hard, long jobs until you are very tired

3 6.3

To make someone feel very cold or deeply frightened

bred in the bone
  • Informal
1 8.8

A quality someone has from birth that is hard to change

Acting with strong determination and refusing to give up

A constant problem that annoys people and is hard to solve

8.3

To make someone laugh a lot

8.5

Making someone feel very afraid

To make someone laugh or feel amused

6.0

To do very hard, long tasks until you are very tired

Phrasal Verbs

to bone up
  • Informal
9 7.6

To study quickly before an exam or important event

Compounds

bone marrow
  • Specialized
68 3.0

Soft, fatty part inside bones that makes blood cells for the body

8 2.7

A steak from the middle of the cow's back with a T-shaped bone and a piece of tenderloin

hyoid bone
  • Specialized
5 8.1

A U-shaped bone in the neck under the tongue that supports its muscles

Very cold or scary

5 3.2

Completely dry with no water left

5 2.7

A bone in the leg like the femur or tibia

occipital bone
  • Specialized
3 7.4

A curved bone at the lower back of the skull that protects the back of the brain

frontal bone
  • Specialized
3 6.3

A large bone at the front of the skull that makes the forehead and upper eye sockets

neck bone
  • Specialized
3 3.7

A small bone in the neck that helps protect the spine

2 3.7

The spot on the elbow that makes a sharp, tingling pain when hit

parietal bone
  • Specialized
2 7.4

One of two bones on the top and side of the skull between the front and back bones

2 4.4

Fine white porcelain made with powdered bone that is strong and slightly see-through

2 2.7

A bone that forms part of the arm, for example the humerus, radius or ulna

long bone
  • Specialized
2 3.6

A long hard part inside the arm or leg like the femur that has a soft center

temporal bone
  • Specialized
2 5.3

Part of the skull on each side that holds the inner ear

1 7.0

A very strong feeling that reaches deep into your body or heart

nasal bone
  • Specialized
1 3.7

One of the two thin bones that form the bridge of the nose

1 3.4

Soft, fatty part inside some bones that people eat as a rich food

1 3.4

Completely dry with no moisture

bone cell
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A living part inside a bone that helps make new bone and remove old bone

cannon bone
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A strong lower leg bone in animals with hooves, especially horses

metacarpal bone
  • Specialized
1 5.6

One of five long bones in the hand between the wrist and a finger

1 5.0

Front part of the hip bone that helps form the pelvis

zygomatic bone
  • Specialized
1 8.0

A bone that forms the cheek and part of the eye socket

bone-idle
  • Offensive
1 9.1

Very lazy and not willing to do any work or help

bone ash
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A white ash left when bones are burned used in fertiliser and bone china

bone hard
  • Informal
1 7.7

Very strong and not easily broken or changed

carpal bone
  • Specialized
1 4.8

One of the eight small bones in the wrist between the forearm and the hand

1 6.3

A bone with no meat on it

malar bone
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A bone that forms the cheek below the eye

mandibular bone
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A bone in animals that forms the lower jaw and lets the mouth open and close

1 6.8

A bone that is roughly round in shape, often from animals

scaphoid bone
  • Specialized
1 7.8

A small wrist bone on the thumb side that often breaks in falls

sesamoid bone
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A small round bone that forms inside a tendon near a joint, like the kneecap

1 2.5

The large inner bone in the lower leg from knee to ankle

shoulder bone
  • Specialized
1 2.5

A flat triangular bone on the upper back that connects the arm to the body

wishing bone
  • Literature
1 8.9

A forked bone from a chicken or turkey pulled for luck

wrist bone
  • Specialized
1 3.0

Small bones in the wrist that help the hand move

bone spavin
  • Specialized
9.9

A disease in horses that causes a hard bone growth on the lower hind leg and makes them lame

bone-ash cup
  • Archaic
9.9

A small bowl made from bone ash used to separate precious metals during testing

An animal with a hard outer layer of bone that protects its body

Extremely hard and painful, often making a loud, crushing sound

Very tired all through your body so you can barely move

bone-forming cell
  • Specialized
4.4

A part of the body that makes new bone during growth or healing

bone-headed dinosaur
  • Specialized
9.2

A two-legged plant-eating dinosaur with a thick rounded skull

bone-lazy
  • Offensive
7.9

Not willing to do any work most of the time

bone age
  • Specialized
6.7

The stage of bone growth shown on X-rays compared with normal age

bone black
  • Specialized
8.4

A black pigment made by burning animal bones for paint and ink

bone char
  • Specialized
9.2

A black material made by burning animal bones used to colour or filter liquids

bone fat
  • Specialized
8.4

Fat taken from animal bones used to make cheap candles, soap, and grease

bone oil
  • Archaic
9.1

An oily liquid from heated animal bones used as a lubricant or to treat leather

A very strong movement you feel in your body from loud sound or a fast ride

A very strong fear that feels like it shakes your body

capitate bone
  • Specialized
6.6

A large bone in the middle of the wrist that connects to the base of the middle finger

calf bone
  • Specialized
4.6

The outer, thinner bone in the lower leg between the knee and ankle, also called the fibula

cartilage bone
  • Specialized
9.0

A bone that forms inside cartilage before a baby is born, like long arm or leg bones

crazy bone
  • Informal
7.7

The spot at the elbow that makes your arm tingle when hit

cuboid bone
  • Specialized
7.4

A bone on the outer side of the foot about the shape of a small cube

cuneiform bone
  • Specialized
9.1

A small bone in the wrist near the little finger

The inner longer bone of the forearm between the elbow and the wrist

ethmoid bone
  • Specialized
8.6

A light spongy bone at the skull base that helps form the eye sockets and the inside of the nose

fetter bone
  • Specialized
9.9

A long bone in a horse's lower leg between the joint above the hoof and the hoof

7.8

A bone condition where normal bone is replaced by soft tissue, making bones weak

9.3

A cut of beef from the sirloin next to the wedge bone

lacrimal bone
  • Specialized
7.9

A small thin bone at the inner side of the eye socket that helps drain tears

lunate bone
  • Specialized
6.3

A small bone in the middle of the wrist shaped like a half moon that helps hand movement

mastoid bone
  • Specialized
6.5

A bony bump behind the ear at the base of the skull

membrane bone
  • Specialized
7.9

A bone that forms directly in soft tissue instead of from cartilage, like skull and collar bones

glass bone disease
  • Specialized
5.2

A rare condition where bones are very weak and break easily

hamate bone
  • Specialized
7.5

A small bone on the outer side of the wrist next to the little finger with a hook-like part

innominate bone
  • Specialized
9.9

A large hip bone on one side of the pelvis that has three parts

ischial bone
  • Specialized
8.5

The lower back part of the hip bone that forms the pelvis

jugal bone
  • Specialized
9.1

A bone under the eye that makes the cheek stick out

Surface Forms

bone infinitive
boned past
boned past participle
boning present participle
bones third person singular

Etymology

The verb bone comes from the noun bone and simply means 'to take out the bones' from meat or fish before cooking, which is exactly how we use it today.