Meaning & use
it's in your bones
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
used to say that a feeling, skill, or belief is deeply natural and instinctive to someone.
Grammar: Often followed by 'that' or used after 'know'/'feel': I know it in my bones that... / It's in your bones.
Patterns
- it's in your bones
- know something in your bones
- feel something in your bones
She can't explain how, but she knows it's in her bones that the team will win.
After years of playing, the rhythm is in his bones.
The love for that old house is in my bones; I could never sell it.
Common combinations
- know in your bones
- I know in my bones that she is telling the truth.
- feel in your bones
- He felt in his bones that something was wrong.
- be in your bones
- Music is in her bones; she was born into a family of musicians.
Synonyms and how they differ
- instinctively
- This adverb describes acting on instinct, while 'it's in your bones' emphasizes a deep, permanent part of your nature.
- deep down
- This phrase means in your true inner feelings; 'in your bones' is stronger and suggests something you cannot change.
Commonly confused: it's in your bones or in the bone?
it's in your bones vs in the bone
This literal phrase refers to something physically inside a bone; the idiom always uses the plural 'bones' and a possessive like 'your'.
Practice
Complete the sentence: She didn't need proof; she ______ it in her bones.
Choose one answer.
The past simple 'knew' fits the past-time context. 'Knowed' is not a word, 'was knowing' is not used for a state verb, and 'has known' would need a different time frame.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “it's in your bones”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.