bone-crushing

American  

[bohn-kruhsh-ing] / ˈboʊnˌkrʌʃ ɪŋ /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of bone-crushing

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Its long, shallow skull indicates it lacked the bone-crushing bite strength of T. rex.

From Science Daily • Oct. 24, 2025

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 • Jul. 24, 2024

Based on fossilized poop and gnawed bones, researchers know adults used their bone-crushing teeth to eat large plant-eating dinos the size of an African elephant, such as Triceratops and duck-billed dinosaurs.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 7, 2023

Instead of bus-size behemoths, these fish were closer to Volkswagen Beetles, but still bugs that could deliver bone-crushing bites.

From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2023

She rushes forward and pulls me in a bone-crushing hug.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer