marrow

/ˈmɛroʊ/

/ˈmærəʊ/

Other forms: marrows

The soft stuff inside of a bone is called marrow. Many people cook with marrow from beef bones and consider it a delicacy.

Dogs love to gnaw on bones, trying to get at the marrow inside, and many soups and other recipes call for marrow, which is tender and fatty. Human beings, of course, have marrow inside their bones as well, and certain diseases can be treated by marrow transplants. From this biological kind of marrow comes a figurative meaning of marrow — the essence of something. You might say, "This sentence represents the marrow of the novel."

Definitions of marrow

1. noun

   the fatty network of connective tissue that fills the cavities of bones
   synonyms: bone marrow

   types:

   red bone marrow, red marrow

   bone marrow of children and some adult bones that is required for the formation of red blood cells

   yellow bone marrow, yellow marrow

   bone marrow that is yellow with fat; found at the ends of long bones in adults

   type of:

   connective tissue

   tissue of mesodermal origin consisting of e.g. collagen fibroblasts and fatty cells; supports organs and fills spaces between them and forms tendons and ligaments
2. noun

   very tender and very nutritious tissue from marrowbones
   synonyms: bone marrow

   type of:

   dainty, delicacy, goody, kickshaw, treat

   something considered choice to eat
3. noun

   the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
   synonyms: center, centre, core, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, kernel, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, pith, substance, sum

   types:

   bare bones

   (plural) the most basic facts or elements

   hypostasis

   (metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality

   haecceity, quiddity

   the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other

   distillation, quintessence

   the purest and most concentrated essence of something

   stuff

   a critically important or characteristic component

   type of:

   cognitive content, content, mental object

   the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned
4. noun

   any of various squash plants grown for their elongated fruit with smooth dark green skin and whitish flesh
   synonyms: marrow squash, vegetable marrow

   types:

   courgette, zucchini

   marrow squash plant whose fruit are eaten when small

   Italian vegetable marrow, cocozelle

   squash plant having dark green fruit with skin mottled with light green or yellow

   type of:

   Cucurbita pepo melopepo, summer squash, summer squash vine

   any of various usually bushy plants producing fruit that is eaten while immature and before the rind or seeds harden
5. noun

   large elongated squash with creamy to deep green skins
   synonyms: vegetable marrow

   type of:

   summer squash

   any of various fruits of the gourd family that mature during the summer; eaten while immature and before seeds and rind harden