bones 1 of 2

plural of bone
1
as in die
a small cube marked on each side with one to six spots and usually played in pairs in various games the pirates decided their captives' fate with a toss of the bones

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in heart
the seat of one's deepest thoughts and emotions I could feel in my bones that I had just met my future wife

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in corpse
a dead body requested that his bones be buried in the country of his birth

Synonyms & Similar Words

bones

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bone

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bones
Noun
The arthropod group includes animals that are without a backbone or any bones at all, strictly speaking, their bodies being encased in a ringed, exterior tegument and having legs and, sometimes, wings. — Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 Aditya Guru Dev and Samyukta Lakshmi—grandchildren of the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore—acquired a bungalow with good bones and a slowly failing roof. — Nuriyah Johar, Architectural Digest, 16 Oct. 2026 In August, human remains, including a jawbone with teeth and dental fillings and rib bones, were discovered at Boulder Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Long-term exposure can damage the kidneys and weaken bones, although the health risks depend on how the metal enters the body. — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026 Sources said the Medical Examiner's Office was called Thursday to recover bones from the home in Philadelphia's Olney section. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026 Issues documented included chemical burns and hydraulic fluid that leaked from a ride into someone’s eye, dislocated joints, concussions and broken bones. — Blake Ellis, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026 At Lake Mead, a short drive in the desert from Las Vegas, the bones of a man in an old drum were found as the reservoir’s waters receded in 2022. — Phil Helsel, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026 Studies have found that weight training may help preserve brain health and might even be linked to slight improvements in memory in patients with mild cognitive impairment (in addition to all its benefits for your bones). — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 14 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bones
Noun
  • Our hearts are with the families whose homes and livelihoods have been impacted.
    — Ava Berger, NPR, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Clyde also finds a black heart, but blows up Morgan’s scarecrow.
    — Alice Burton, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Twenty-three-year-old Avia Cantrell is now charged with capital murder, while a man believed to be her boyfriend, 26-year-old Camron Baker, is charged with abuse of a corpse.
    — Erin Jones, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The sheer number of corpses meant that traditional burial ceremonies were forgotten for a time, and mass unmarked grave sites were used outside the city walls.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Such incidental takings are the most common way that endangered animals die, the NYT reported, so advocates fear the move largely guts the ESA.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026
  • When the Supreme Court guts federal voting protections, every state has to decide whether to fill that void or exploit it.
    — Anthony G. Brown, Baltimore Sun, 26 June 2026
Noun
  • Then Kip caught himself and, by way of saying thanks, rubbed his belly, smiled big, gave me the finger.
    — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Asked what was going on in his head during those hours in the belly of the beast, though, Abrams demures.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • When a whale dies and sinks to the ocean floor, its carcass provides sustenance for deep-sea organisms for centuries, triggering a shockwave of life.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Traditional surveys of carcasses along roadways have shown that crossings do reduce wildlife collisions.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Possessing a Midwestern accent, Calvin Klein dresses, Black American skin and hair care products, and a butter-pecan skin tone, Ericka quickly wins over the crew Paulina has ruled for years.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Nina Piccini, a personal stylist who typically dresses female founders and executives, says workplace clothing is, more than anything, a visual cue.
    — Morgan Sullivan, Glamour, 29 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Finally, the guts are removed and filets are cut, skin optional.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • In her work with CSS and the study, Uhls challenges her gut instincts on young people’s take on entertainment.
    — Mya Copeland, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • When a pharma or biotech company wants to test a new drug, Iqvia finds the sites, recruits the patients, runs the trial and cleans the data.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
  • That same dock features Vortex Wash, which automatically cleans the robot’s dirty wiping pads in about a minute.
    — Matthew Huff, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bones. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster