to the bone

prep_phrase

"to-the-bone" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Completely, totally.

Corpus desk

Index EN-to-the-bone · to the bone · English

to the bone · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for to the bone
PropertyValue
Headwordto the bone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “to the bone” in English

to the boneranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

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

Rare enough to double-check

to the bone is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Completely, totally.".

No misspelling variants are generated for to the bone in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is to the bone, spelled T-O- -T-H-E- -B-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Completely, totally.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how to the bone appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The winter wind was so bitter it chilled me to the bone.
  2. After walking home in the rain, she was soaked to the bone.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "to the bone"?
"to the bone" is spelled T-O- -T-H-E- -B-O-N-E.
What does "to the bone" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "to the bone" means: Completely, totally.
What language does "to the bone" come from?
"to the bone" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list