1. to change into bone or become hard like bone
Usage: medical; biological
2. to become rigid, inflexible, or set in one’s ways
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The cartilage will gradually ossify as the child grows.
• Over time, the soft tissue began to ossify into solid bone.
• His attitudes toward change have ossified over the years.
• The company’s policies ossified, making innovation difficult.
• Without regular exercise, joints can ossify and lose flexibility.
• The organization’s structure had ossified, preventing adaptation to new challenges.