cut to the bone
idiom
: reduced to the lowest possible amount
The company's expenses had been cut to the bone.
Examples of cut to the bone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Darren Eales arrived as chief executive from Atlanta United and commercial and sponsorship departments which had been cut to the bone under Ashley were repopulated.
—
George Caulkin, The Athletic, 10 July 2024
Refusing to crowd a record with a word or a noise that didn’t cut to the bone matter in an instant, Ka rapped like fates in a tragedy warning of the inevitable spoils of a bad decision.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2024
The Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Agriculture represent the United States’ first line of defense against microbial threats to human health, plants, and livestock, but both agencies have been cut to the bone.
—Laurie Garrett, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2013
Call Me By Your Name With depictions of first desire that cut to the bone, this 2017 coming-of-age romance will crack your heart open.
—Erica Marrison, Peoplemag, 2 June 2024
Cutting mortgage rates to stimulate sales may work in larger cities with more housing demand, but not in smaller ones where rates have already been cut to the bone, said Houze Song, an economist at the Paulson Institute, a US think thank.
—Tom Hancock, Fortune Asia, 20 May 2024
But a newspaper can’t play that role when its staff has been cut to the bone.
—Curtis Bunn, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024
But Louisiana has one of the lowest average incomes in the nation and so the rising costs there are quicker to cut to the bone.
—Leslie Kaufman, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Sep. 2023
The movie’s two hours were barely enough to tell the story; to tell it in about two-and-a-half, while leaving room for those 17 new songs, everything else has been cut to the bone, with no room for subtlety, let alone expressivity.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023
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George Caulkin, The Athletic, 10 July 2024
Refusing to crowd a record with a word or a noise that didn’t cut to the bone matter in an instant, Ka rapped like fates in a tragedy warning of the inevitable spoils of a bad decision.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2024
The Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Agriculture represent the United States’ first line of defense against microbial threats to human health, plants, and livestock, but both agencies have been cut to the bone.
—Laurie Garrett, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2013
Call Me By Your Name With depictions of first desire that cut to the bone, this 2017 coming-of-age romance will crack your heart open.
—Erica Marrison, Peoplemag, 2 June 2024
Cutting mortgage rates to stimulate sales may work in larger cities with more housing demand, but not in smaller ones where rates have already been cut to the bone, said Houze Song, an economist at the Paulson Institute, a US think thank.
—Tom Hancock, Fortune Asia, 20 May 2024
But a newspaper can’t play that role when its staff has been cut to the bone.
—Curtis Bunn, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024
But Louisiana has one of the lowest average incomes in the nation and so the rising costs there are quicker to cut to the bone.
—Leslie Kaufman, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Sep. 2023
The movie’s two hours were barely enough to tell the story; to tell it in about two-and-a-half, while leaving room for those 17 new songs, everything else has been cut to the bone, with no room for subtlety, let alone expressivity.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Cut to the bone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cut%20to%20the%20bone. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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