idiom · neutral
work one's fingers to the bone
UK/wɜːk wʌnz ˈfɪŋɡəz tə ðə bəʊn/US/wɝːk wʌnz ˈfɪŋɡərz tə ðə boʊn/work·one's·FING·ers·to·the·BONE
to work extremely hard for a long time, often until one is exhausted.
Examples
“My grandfather worked his fingers to the bone when he first arrived in the city.”
“She worked her fingers to the bone to pay for her children's education.”
“They've been working their fingers to the bone to keep the business afloat.”
Band 8 sentence
“After opening the restaurant, they worked their fingers to the bone for months before it finally became profitable.”
Collocations
- work one's fingers to the bone to + verb
- work one's fingers to the bone for the family
Word family
Common mistakes
work one's finger to the bone→work one's fingers to the bone
work finger to bone→work one's fingers to the bone
Say it for a higher band
5work hard→6work very hard→7+work one's fingers to the bone
Synonyms
toil
work very hard
Easily confused
work around the clock
“She worked her fingers to the bone to pay for her children's education.”
Related words
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In Work
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