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T-bone

American  
[tee-bohn] / ˈtiˌboʊn /

noun

  • T-bones
    plural
  1. a T-bone steak, a choice piece of beef with a conspicuous T -shaped bone.


verb (used with object)

T-boned, T-boning
  1. Informal to crash into the side of (a motor vehicle).

    The driver of the SUV drove through a red light and T-boned a city bus.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of T-bone

From the shape of the letter T + bone ( def. ); T-bone def. 1 was first recorded in 1930–35; T-bone def. 2 in 1965–70.


Compare meaning

How does t-bone compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:


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.

See Examples For:

“There was a complete T-bone and then those two cars hit me and then swerved off to the side.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024

A family ordered T-bone steaks and double pudding portions then left without paying their £329 restaurant bill, it has been claimed.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2024

Another is from Math Igler’s Casino Restaurant, where a T-bone with mushrooms went for $5 in 1950.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2022

We opted for a well-aged, medium-rare T-bone steak cooked over hickory logs, with buttered corn and spinach served family-style.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2022

Better to be a T-bone player, I think, than to be like them.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

Cignetti’s gotten a lot of attention for his bravado and his menacing sideline presence, in which he paces and stares like a customer who thinks the butcher’s hiding the best T-bones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

“He went over my hedges, across my front lawn, and then T-bones the Tesla,” Kelleher said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2024

Hechler summoned a manager and, a few moments later, he returned with two free T-bones to welcome the couple as customers.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2023

She spent 25 years at the Legion Club serving T-bones to Bob Devaney and a host of Lincoln’s veterans and businessmen.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 18, 2020

He drifted through every few months in search of T-bones and guavas.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

Don’t miss: ‘My head hit the driver’s window’: A teenager T-boned our car.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

A driver T-boned my Volvo on my way home from work at E!

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025

“It was very clear that that whale was T-boned by the bow of a ship,” said Gaydos, science director for the SeaDoc Society, a science and education nonprofit based on Orcas Island.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2024

The 11th Hour Racing Team left The Hague, Netherlands, on Sunday, less than 72 hours after it was T-boned by another boat just 17 minutes into the start of the final leg.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

They were T-boned in the middle of the intersection by a driver for Med-Service Hospital Supplies.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Earnhart’s grille was crushed after T-boning Clint Bowyer in the melee.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 12, 2011

When possible, you should approach the dock at a somewhat-acute angle rather than one that will result in T-boning the tiki bar if the engine abruptly quits.

From Time Magazine Archive

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