bones 1 of 2

noun

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
as in guts

Related Words

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
Suspended from those sturdy metallic bones is a set of double-wishbone suspension arms coupled with motorsport-grade KW Reiger dampers. — New Atlas, 11 Nov. 2026 The film has the bones of a professional assassin revenge story, but the family and religious elements are quite different in tone. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2026 Despite massive searches, his whereabouts remained a mystery until June of that year when a group of local hikers stumbled upon a boot, some bones and a driver’s license with a familiar face. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2026 The first bones belonging to the dinosaur were discovered in 1994 in Conteville, in France’s Normandy region, according to the auction website. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2026 On Friday May 16, 2025, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had already spread to his bones. — Lars Hanson, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Nov. 2026 The bones are then added to a pot with fresh thyme and black peppercorns, covered with cold water, and simmered on low heat overnight. — Heather Riske, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Nov. 2026 Unlike humans and other animals with rigid skeletons, octopuses have extremely flexible bodies built around what scientists call a muscular hydrostat, a system of muscles that provides both support and movement without bones. — Reuters, NBC news, 6 Nov. 2026 That goes for muscle—but also for bones, the respiratory system, and the pelvic floor. — Laura Solla, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bones
  1. heart
  2. corpse
  3. guts
  4. belly
  5. carcass
  6. dresses
  7. gut
  8. cleans
Noun
  • During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, James, 32, opened up about how the project became a deeply personal way to reconnect with Bill, who passed away in February 2017 following heart surgery.
    — Ashley Hume , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Sola Media managing director Solveig Langeland said mixing humor and heart has always sat at the center of the studio’s storytelling, backed by its skill at bringing characters to life through strong voice casts.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of heart
Noun
  • Four of the mummified corpses also tested positive for alcohol, which likely came from drinking chicha, a beer made out of maize.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Set in a small Vermont town at the absolute peak of fall foliage season, The Trouble With Harry follows a group of residents who stumble upon the titular character’s corpse on a hillside.
    — Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of corpse
Verb
  • Against that backdrop, Laster’s idiosyncratic, broader reading of ‘good faith’ substantively guts the protections SB21 was meant to provide.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2026
  • 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
Definition of guts
Noun
  • Two animal control officers, including a new officer who was stoked to find a pig, put a rope around her belly and loaded her into an oversized dog crate and onto a truck, Leon said.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Some research suggests that drinking moderate amounts of caffeinated coffee is associated with reductions in total body fat and visceral belly fat, a kind of deep fat linked to health conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
    — Jillian Kubala, HEALTH, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of belly
Noun
  • The hunters decided to try winching the carcass off the ground so that the meat could cool.
    — Rich LaRocco, Outdoor Life, 2 Nov. 2026
  • There were many more carcasses elsewhere on the Danger Islands, which are home to two mega colonies for penguins.
    — Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of carcass
Verb
  • There has remained an overarching philosophy to the way West dresses the Dune universe.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The right pick comes down to how the recipient already dresses and which specific features each jacket actually offers.
    — Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of dresses
Noun
  • Her gut feeling proved to be right, and she was immediately welcomed by her co-workers.
    — Jane Miller, Chicago Tribune, 13 Nov. 2026
  • The variant, located in a distant regulatory region of DNA, was shown to increase activity of the ETS2 gene in gut macrophages, a type of immune cell.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of gut
Verb
  • The water and stain spray protects leather uppers and straps; the cleaner and refresher solution is a non-aerosol spray that cleans the footbed; and the cork sealer waterproofs the cork sole and protects it from drying out and becoming brittle.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Towel stripping deeply cleans dingy towels, restoring softness and brightness.
    — Anyssa Roberts, The Spruce, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of cleans

Browse Nearby Words

boners
bones
bones (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bones. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All