Bony describes something that has prominent bones you can easily see or feel. A bony elbow sticks out sharply when you bend your arm. A bony fish like a pike has many small bones throughout its flesh that you need to watch out for while eating. When someone is very thin, their wrists, shoulders, or face might look bony because there isn't much muscle or fat covering their skeleton.

The word often describes body parts where bones are naturally close to the surface. Your knees, ankles, and the ridge of your nose are all bony areas. A bony hand might have visible knuckles and tendons.

Sometimes bony simply means made of bone. Scientists study the bony structure of dinosaur skeletons to understand how these creatures moved and lived. Fish are divided into two main groups: bony fish (like salmon and goldfish) that have skeletons made of bone, and cartilaginous fish (like sharks and rays) that have skeletons made of flexible cartilage instead.