bone up

British  

verb

1. informal (adverb; when intr, usually foll by on) to study intensively

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bone up Idioms  

1. Study intensely, as in I'll have to bone up on my Spanish if I'm to pass the language requirement. The verb bone alone was used in this sense from the mid-1800s on, up being added later. [Slang; late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Sometimes dogs clear across the kennel will hold their bones up in the air, look at each other, raise their hair, and start growling at each other, posturing and bragging about their bones.

From Literature

How did so many bones up and vanish?

From Science Magazine

Per the film, this is a natural consequence of not boning up on your “Emily Post.”

From Salon

Della Donna started boning up on criminal law, talking to every criminal attorney she could find and eventually turning to UCI Law School.

From Seattle Times

In 1989, a year after he finished his military service, he boned up on the language with a monthlong crash course in Budapest.

From New York Times