bone hard
1
7.7
- adjective
- Informal
:
duro como hueso
- The athlete's determination was bone hard, allowing her to push through every challenge.
We all know that Zach is bone hard.
- We all know that Zach is bone hard.
Examples
-
He worked tirelessly, with a bone hard resolve to achieve his goals despite the obstacles.
-
The snow, soft and absorbent at gentler temperatures, is "bone hard" at fifty below.
Fiction book (2002) -
Heartwood was next, bone-hard and dead.
Fiction book (1995) -
He stared into his callused, bone-hard hands.
Fiction book (2001) -
The material used in the construction was bone hard, ensuring the strength and durability of the building.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Having great physical power or being solid enough to resist force
250
1.7
Strong and able to resist damage or rough use
11
3.2
Very hard and solid like stone
10
7.1
Someone who can deal with hard things and stay calm
3
7.5
Unwilling to change bad habits or beliefs
Very firm and unwilling to change in attitude or mind
Acting with strong determination and refusing to give up
Antonyms
How Hard
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'extremely tough' follows directly from combining 'bone' (a naturally hard material) with 'hard' (firm/solid) — i.e., ‘as hard as bone’ — so the sense is a straightforward intensification of hardness. This compositional, material-based metaphor is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Bone hard comes from the picture of a bone, the body's hardest part, so hard as bone means 'very firm' and 'not easy to break'. That's why we call a person or ground bone hard when they are extremely tough or completely solid.