bone in the throat

noun

"bone-in-the-throat" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bone in the throat” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A source of continuing annoyance; a hindrance.

Key facts for bone in the throat
PropertyValue
Headwordbone in the throat
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bone in the throat” sits in English frequency

bone in the throat falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bone in the throat is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A source of continuing annoyance; a hindrance.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bone in the throat, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is bone in the throat, spelled B-O-N-E- -I-N- -T-H-E- -T-H-R-O-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A source of continuing annoyance; a hindrance.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bone in the throat"?
"bone in the throat" is spelled B-O-N-E- -I-N- -T-H-E- -T-H-R-O-A-T.
What does "bone in the throat" mean?
As a noun, "bone in the throat" means: A source of continuing annoyance; a hindrance.
What language does "bone in the throat" come from?
"bone in the throat" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “bone in the throat”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-O-N-E- -I-N- -T-H-E- -T-H-R-O-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list