bone marrow

American

noun

marrow.

bone marrow British

noun

See marrow 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bone marrow Scientific

The spongy, red tissue that fills the bone cavities of mammals. Bone marrow is the source of red blood cells, platelets, and most white blood cells.

bone marrow Cultural

See marrow.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

To prepare for transplant, I had two weeks of near-lethal doses of chemo to destroy my diseased bone marrow and suppress my immune system, creating space for donor cells to take hold.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

Several factors appear to drive this decline, including accumulated cellular damage, changes in gene activity, chronic low-level inflammation, and shifts in the bone marrow environment.

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2026

The researchers found no trace of the virus in samples of the man's blood, gut and bone marrow.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

Classifying a patient as cured also allows them to avoid intrusive, and sometimes painful, screening tests, like bone marrow biopsies.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026

Certain chemicals, again reminding us of radiation products like Strontium 90, have a peculiar affinity for the bone marrow.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023