bony
gb/bˈoʊni/ us/bˈoʊni/
B2
English
~ 9800
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B2
property
1
very thin, with bones sticking out
Very thin, so you can easily see or feel the bones under the skin.
Usage pattern:
[someone] / [a body part] is bony
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use *bony* for any thin person, even when bones are not noticeably sticking out. Use *thin* or *slim* for general thinness, and *bony* when the bones can clearly be seen or felt. Some also confuse *bony* (adjective) with *bone* (noun), saying things like *he is bone* instead of *he is bony*.
Synonyms
skinny (More common and informal; focuses on being very thin, not specifically on visible bones.)
|
gaunt (Suggests unhealthy thinness, often from illness, worry, or not enough food.)
Antonyms
plump (Describes someone pleasantly and softly fat, the opposite of very thin and bony.)
|
well-built (Suggests a strong, solid body without sharp, sticking-out bones.)
Collocations
bony shoulders
|bony fingers
|bony knees
|tall and bony
|thin and bony
|bony old man
Themes
appearance
|health
|body
Examples
- Her hands were so bony that his fingers closed around almost nothing but knuckles.
- After months of illness he looked pale and bony in the hospital bed.
- The cat that wandered into the yard was bony and clearly underfed.
- You could feel his bony shoulder blades through his shirt.
- The model’s bony frame worried some of the viewers.
Learner examples
- The old man was very thin and bony.
- I could feel her bony shoulder under my hand.
- The dog was sick and looked bony.
- His bony fingers held the small cup.
- She sat on my lap, but she was so bony that it hurt.
adjective
C1
property
2
made of bone or bone tissue
Made of bone, or describing the hard bone part of the body.
Usage pattern:
bony [structure/body part]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this sense with the meaning of *bony* = very thin. In sentences like *a bony ridge on the skull* or *bony plates*, *bony* means ‘made of bone’, not ‘skinny’. Also, some learners incorrectly say *bone structure* where a specific adjective is needed, as in *bony growth* rather than *bone growth* when it is made of bone tissue.
Synonyms
osseous (A technical and formal word used mainly in medical or scientific contexts.)
Antonyms
cartilaginous (Describes structures made of cartilage rather than bone.)
Collocations
bony structure
|bony skull
|bony ridge
|bony plates
|bony growth
|bony spur
Themes
science
|medicine
|body
Examples
- The surgeon had to shave down a small bony spur on the patient’s heel.
- A sharp bony ridge runs along the top of the animal’s skull.
- The X-ray clearly showed the bony structures around the eye.
- The turtle’s shell is supported by bony plates beneath the surface.
- Archaeologists uncovered the bony remains of several small mammals.
Learner examples
- The doctor showed me the bony part of my shoulder on the X-ray.
- There is a hard, bony ridge above the eye.
- The fish has a strong bony skeleton.
- A thin bony plate protects the brain.
- They studied the bony structure of the bird’s wing.
adjective
B2
property
3
containing many small bones (food)
Having many small bones, so the meat or fish is hard or not nice to eat.
Usage pattern:
bony [meat/fish piece]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think *bony fish* just means ‘thin fish’. In food contexts, *bony* means the meat or fish has many bones inside it. Also, learners may say *many bones fish* instead of *bony fish* or *fish with many bones*.
Synonyms
full of bones (Informal descriptive phrase; less compact and not used as a single adjective.)
Antonyms
meaty (Describes meat or fish with a lot of flesh and relatively few bones.)
Collocations
bony fish
|bony chicken
|bony piece of meat
|too bony to eat
|small and bony
|dry and bony
Themes
food
|cooking
|daily life
|food_drink
Examples
- The stew was tasty, but the chicken was too bony to enjoy.
- Choose a less bony cut of fish if you are serving it to children.
- He complained that the cheap wings were mostly skin and bony bits.
- This river species is small and very bony, so people rarely eat it.
- She picked carefully through the bony pieces of pork in her soup.
Learner examples
- I don’t like this fish; it is too bony.
- The chicken was dry and bony, so I did not eat much.
- Be careful, this is a bony piece of meat.
- Some small fish are very bony and hard to eat.
- He pushed the bony parts of the meat to the side of his plate.
Grammar
Dictionary form
bony
IPA
GB/bˈoʊni/
US/bˈoʊni/
Syllables & stress
bony (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (bony)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: bony
- Comparative: bonier
- Superlative: boniest
Word family
Forms
bonier
adjective
boniest
adjective
Core family
bone
noun A2
Negative and opposite forms
boneless
adjective
Advanced or less common
boniness
noun
Expressions
bony fingers
1/bˈoʊni fˈɪŋɡɚz/
fixed phrase
very thin, bone-like fingers
Very thin fingers where you can easily feel or see the bones.
Examples
- Her cold, bony fingers wrapped tightly around the mug.
- He placed his bony fingers gently on the piano keys.
bony fish
1/bˈoʊni fˈɪʃ/
fixed phrase
fish with a skeleton of bone
A fish whose body is supported by hard bones, not mostly by soft cartilage like a shark.
Examples
- Salmon, trout, and cod are all examples of bony fish.
- Unlike sharks and rays, bony fish have a hard skeleton made of true bone.
bony frame
1/bˈoʊni fɹˈeɪm/
fixed phrase
literary
very thin, skeletal body
A very thin body where the bones seem to show through the skin.
Examples
- His coat hung loosely over his bony frame.
- Years of hard work had left her with a small, bony frame.
bony hands
1/bˈoʊni hˈændz/
fixed phrase
very thin, bone-like hands
Very thin hands where you can easily feel or see the bones.
Examples
- The old woman folded her bony hands in her lap.
- His bony hands shook slightly as he signed the paper.
bony knees
1/bˈoʊni nˈiz/
fixed phrase
protruding, very thin knees
Very thin knees where the bone sticks out and can be clearly seen or felt.
Examples
- As a child he was all long legs and bony knees.
- She pulled her socks up over her bony knees.