to the bone
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Affecting someone in a very penetrating way.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
THE continuing slump in the pound robbed the Government of a much needed propaganda triumph yesterday.
He lay on the grass of Bedfordshire, shaken to his very bones.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “to the bone” mean?
Affecting someone in a very penetrating way.
Is “to the bone” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.