einen Knochen abnagen

to gnaw a bone clean

Türkçe: kemiği sıyırmak

Noun

Knochen m.

Verb

abnagen

Topic

Körper und Gesundheit

In a sentence

Der hungrige Hund nagt den großen Knochen stundenlang ab.

How it is used

Literally 'to gnaw a bone clean'; figuratively 'to work through a tough problem bit by bit.' Neutral register. Use when describing a dog eating, or a student slowly solving a complex math task. Nuance: literal meaning is more common.

Other verbs that go with Knochen

This is the choice the collocation turns on.

• einen (gebrochenen) Knochen richtento set a (broken) bone
• (sich) die Knochen brechento break her bones
• schwere Knochen habena sturdy, heavy build

All collocations with Knochen