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to bone up
01
to study or prepare intensively for something
Slang
Grammatical Information
Composition
Simple
Action verb
Regular
Separable
Particle
up
Base verb
bone
Present tense
bone up
3rd person singular
bones up
Present participle
boning up
Past simple
boned up
Past participle
boned up
What does "to bone up" mean in studying slang?
The phrase "to bone up" means to study or review something intensively, usually in preparation for an exam or important task. The structure is informal slang where "bone up" suggests strengthening one's knowledge, likely derived from older English usage meaning to sharpen or improve skills. It is commonly used in academic contexts to describe focused, last-minute or thorough studying.
Examples
I need to bone up on chemistry before the test.
