Meanings
- idiomaticuncountableoften preceded by putA substantial addition to or augmentation of the content of something, especially something which is unfinished or incomplete.
The Conservatives finally put some meat on the bones of their plans at their annual conference last week.
2009 October 11, Ashley Seager, “Has Darling or Osborne the best plan for cutting the deficit”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 12 Jun 20222 more examples
Co-producer Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys puts meat on the bones of songs that often feel like little more than drowsily repeated phrases.
2014 June 16, Allison Stewart, “Music: 'Ultraviolence' is the set of songs Lana Del Rey was invented to sing”, in Washington Post, retrieved 12 Jun 2022As Premier Doug Ford scrambles to put some meat on the bones of his vague plan for reopening the economy, he’s asking businesses to suggest regulatory shortcuts.
2020 April 28, Robert Benzie, “Doug Ford promises more details this week”, in The Star, Toronto, Canada, retrieved 12 Jun 2022Synonyms: flesh on the bones
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA substantial addition to or augmentation of the content of something, especially something which is unfinished or incomplete.
Cite this entry
meat on the bones. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meat%20on%20the%20bones
“meat on the bones.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meat%20on%20the%20bones. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “meat on the bones,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meat%20on%20the%20bones.
Source: meat on the bones on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.