bone-crushing

[ bohn-kruhsh-ing ]

adjective

1. powerful or constricting enough to crush one's bones:

   a bone-crushing handshake.

2. extremely painful, troublesome, costly, etc.:

   a bone-crushing mortgage.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bone-crushing¹

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

In the real world, no human could survive the unimaginable heat and bone-crushing pressure, even if there were a vehicle capable of tunneling to the core, Vidale said.

From Los Angeles Times

Rather than the deep bone-crushing jaws of an adult T. rex, the lower jaw of the reservoir specimen looked more slender.

From New York Times

These men and women are very good at what they do, and their sport - with all its trickery and speed and none of the bone-crushing, head-jarring violence of the real thing - certainly has its appeal.

From Washington Times

Players quickly bonded with RJ, who stands 6-foot-3 and grins while giving monster hugs and bone-crushing handshakes.

From Los Angeles Times

It included Conor Sheary, who played on the top line and finished with a plus-3 rating; Aliaksei Protas, who moved to center with Dowd out; Beck Malenstyn, who was called up from the team’s American League Hockey League affiliate in Hershey, Pa., last week and delivered several bone-crushing checks.

From Washington Post