boneless
adjective
boneless is spelled B-O-N-E-L-E-S-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, boneless means “Without bones, especially as pertaining to meat or poultry prepared for eating” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in boneless?
| Letters | 8: B-O-N-E-L-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is boneless?
Boneless appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce boneless?
- US
Boneless has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-boneless.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with boneless?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as boneless.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: noblesse.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of boneless
- more boneless comparative
- most boneless superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does boneless mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Without bones, especially as pertaining to meat or poultry prepared for eating.
Near-synonyms: boned, deboned
- 2
USWithout pizza crust; without pizza bones.
- 3
UKLacking strength, courage, or resolve.
I remember, when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnum's circus, which contained an exhibition of freaks and monstrosities, but the exhibit … which I most desired to see was the one described as "The Boneless Wonder." My paren
- 4
informalOf a couch, cushionlike due to lacking a hard internal frame.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Boneless in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense without bones:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | désossé |
| German | schier |
| Portuguese | desossado |
| Spanish | deshuesado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does boneless come from?
From Middle English bonles, banles, from Old English bānlēas (“boneless”), from Proto-Germanic *bainalausaz, equivalent to bone + -less. Cognate with Scots baneless (“boneless”), Dutch beenloos (“boneless; legless”), German beinlos (“legless”), Swedish benlös (“boneless”), Icelandic beinlaus (“boneless”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).