1. plural of bone; the hard parts that form the skeleton of a person or animal
2. dice used in gambling
Usage: informal
3. the basic structure or framework of something
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The dog buried its bones in the backyard.
• X-rays showed that several bones were broken in the accident.
• The archaeologist carefully excavated the ancient bones.
• He rolled the bones and hoped for a lucky number.
• The bare bones of the story were interesting but needed more detail.
• She could feel the cold in her bones.
• The skeleton had 206 bones when complete.