Meanings
- figurativelyidiomatic(of a feeling, belief, etc.) Derived from instinct, intuition, or an ingrained inclination.
She could feel the rhythm in her bones.
2 more examples
He understood in his bones that the odds were not in his favor.
I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones Enough to make my system blow
2012, Alex da Kid, Ben McKee, Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Josh Mosser, “Radioactive”, in Continued Silence EP, performed by Imagine Dragons - Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, one's, bones: especially, referring to rheumatic aches sensitive to atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity.
She could feel the rhythm in her bones.
1 more example
As his aging hands became increasingly arthritic, he would often tell us that he could feel it in his bones when a snowstorm was coming.
Origin
The figurative sense has a linguistic life of its own as a metaphor comparable with others such as at the heart of it all, but it is also related to the literal theme that people with rheumatism can feel weather changes in their bones and joints.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish luissaan
- luissaanderived from instinct or ingrained attitude
Italian nelle ossa
- nelle ossaderived from instinct or ingrained attitude
Polish w kościach
- w kościachderived from instinct or ingrained attitude
Cite this entry
in one's bones. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one's%20bones
“in one's bones.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one's%20bones. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in one's bones,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one's%20bones.
Source: in one's bones on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.