to the bone(s)

1. Very much; to an extreme degree. I can't believe you pushed me into the pool! Now I have to walk home soaked to the bone! We felt shocked to the bones to read about the things our neighbor had done.

2. Through and through; thoroughly; in every manner or respect. Though he grew up in America, Henry is still a Brit to the bone. The fellow is stubborn to the bone; he won't even listen to my plan the whole way through!

to the bone

1 (of a wound) so deep as to expose the victim's bone. 2 affecting a person in a very penetrating way.

to the bone

To an extreme degree: was chilled to the bone; cut the budget to the bone.

See also: bone, to

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in periodicals archive

An equivalent infection in a person's hands would be a raw, ulcerated wound that leaks pus, reaches down to the bone, and covers both palms, he notes.

Good health requires good gums; periodontal infections have ties to many ailments

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