marrow
/'mærou/
Definition
Noun: 1. The soft, fatty, vascular tissue that fills the cavities of most bones: This is the primary biological definition. It is the substance inside bones responsible for producing blood cells. 2. The choicest, most essential, or most vital part of some idea or experience; the core or essence: This is a figurative meaning, referring to the central, most important part of something abstract. 3. (Chiefly British) A type of large, elongated summer squash (vegetable marrow) with smooth skin, typically green, and whitish flesh: This refers to a specific variety of squash plant and its edible fruit.
Examples of Usage
- Bone Tissue:
- A bone marrow transplant can be a life-saving procedure for some patients.
- The cold wind chilled him to the marrow.
- Essential Part (Figurative):
- Her speech went straight to the marrow of the issue, ignoring all superficial details.
- Understanding this principle is the very marrow of our philosophy.
- Vegetable:
- For dinner, we had roasted marrow with herbs and breadcrumbs.
- His prize-winning marrow was enormous.
Advanced Usage
- "To the marrow": An idiom meaning thoroughly, completely, or to the deepest part of one's being. It is often used with verbs like "chill," "freeze," or "frighten."
- The ghost story frightened the children to the marrow.
Variants and Related Words
- Bone marrow (n): The full, specific term for the tissue inside bones. Often used in medical contexts.
- Vegetable marrow (n): The full term for the squash, though it is commonly shortened to just "marrow" in British English.
- Marrowbone (n): A bone containing edible marrow, often used in cooking for soups and stocks.
- Marrowfat (n): A type of large pea, named for its plump, marrow-like texture when mature.
Synonyms
- For meaning 1 (bone tissue): medulla (technical).
- For meaning 2 (essential part): core, essence, heart, soul, gist, nucleus, kernel, nub, pith, quintessence, substance.
- For meaning 3 (vegetable): summer squash, vegetable marrow.
Related Idioms
- Chilled/Frozen to the marrow: Extremely cold, feeling cold deep inside the body.
- After waiting for the bus in the snow, I was frozen to the marrow.
Noun
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the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
-
the gist of the prosecutor's argument
-
the heart and soul of the Republican Party
-
the nub of the story
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large elongated squash with creamy to deep green skins
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very tender and very nutritious tissue from marrowbones
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any of various squash plants grown for their elongated fruit with smooth dark green skin and whitish flesh
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the fatty network of connective tissue that fills the cavities of bones
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