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Showing results for cut to the bone. Search instead for cuts to the bone.
Definitions

cut to the bone

ADJECTIVE
short
Synonyms
STRONGEST
abbreviated brief crisp precise shortened terse
STRONG
bare compressed condensed curtailed decreased diminished fleeting lessened little summarized summary
WEAK
aphoristic boiled down breviloquent compendiary compendious concise curtate cut short decurtate epigrammatic in a nutshell laconic momentary not protracted pithy sententious short and sweet short-term succinct undersized unprolonged unsustained
Antonyms
STRONGEST
enduring lasting lengthy
STRONG
long
WEAK
unabridged
ADJECTIVE
succinct
Synonyms
STRONGEST
blunt concise curt pithy terse
WEAK
boiled down breviloquent brusque compact compendiary compendious condensed in a nutshell in few words laconic short summary
Antonyms
STRONGEST
lengthy long-winded polite wordy
ADJECTIVE
terse
Synonyms
STRONGEST
brusque concise cryptic curt elliptical incisive laconic pithy precise succinct trenchant
WEAK
abrupt aphoristic boiled down breviloquent clear-cut clipped close compact compendiary compendious condensed crisp epigrammatic exact gnomic in a nutshell lean neat pointed sententious short and sweet snappy summary taut to the point
Antonyms
STRONGEST
gentle kind lengthy long-winded nice polite verbose wordy
WEAK
prolix
VERB
distill
Synonyms
STRONGEST
condense extract infuse refine
STRONG
brew clarify concentrate cook cut dribble drip drop evaporate express ferment precipitate press purify rarefy rectify steam sublimate trickle trim vaporize volatilize
WEAK
boil down cut down get to the meat press out squeeze out
Antonyms
STRONG
dirty pour
WEAK
pollute
VERB
shorten
Synonyms
STRONGEST
abbreviate compress curtail cut cut back cut down lessen minimize reduce shrink slash trim
STRONG
abridge bob chop clip condense contract dock edit elide excerpt lop retrench snip
WEAK
blue pencil boil down make a long story short put in a nutshell
Antonyms
STRONGEST
develop enlarge expand extend grow increase lengthen raise strengthen stretch
WEAK
amplify elongate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In some places, it cut to the bone.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

"Their budget has been cut to the bone, and they are unable to perform many responsibilities that are vital to the national interest."

From Salon • Dec. 26, 2022

However, his biggest criticism lies with the drive for low prices and big profits where "everything gets cut to the bone and during unusual times it will mean system breakdown".

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2022

However, more than half of our state’s dailies are now ghost newspapers, with newsrooms that have been cut to the bone by hedge funds.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 8, 2021

So quiet that in the previous year’s race against California he’d rowed the whole two miles with his thumb cut to the bone and never mentioned it to anyone.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.