bone meal

American  

Or bonemeal

noun

Agriculture.

1. bones ground to a coarse powder, used as fertilizer or feed.

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bone meal British  

noun

1. the product of dried and ground animal bones, used as a fertilizer or in stock feeds

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Etymology

Origin of bone meal

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

The number of BSE cases plummeted after bans were introduced on feed that included meat and bone meal from infected cows believed to cause the disease.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 1, 2023

Fertilizers that have chicken manure or bone meal are particularly enticing to dogs, Poppenga said, so use them only in areas your dog can’t access.

From Washington Post • May 4, 2022

Use things like compost tea, seaweed/sea kelp tea or bone meal to increase the vitality of your plants.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 27, 2021

There is no inspection of pet food or meat and bone meal shipped in from other states.

From Slate • Apr. 19, 2013

There must be tons of human bone meal in the ground.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut