Meaning & use
endoskeleton
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Meanings
nouncountablebiology
A supporting framework of bone or cartilage that lies inside an animal's body, as opposed to a hard shell on the outside.
Grammar: Countable: humans have an endoskeleton; many animals have endoskeletons.
Patterns
- the endoskeleton of something
Fish, birds and mammals all have an endoskeleton made of bone or cartilage.
A sea urchin has a thin endoskeleton just beneath its spiny skin.
The endoskeleton grows along with the animal, so it never has to be shed.
nouncountabletechnical
An inner structural frame that holds up a machine, especially a robot, with a covering placed over it.
Grammar: Used in engineering and science fiction: the robot's metal endoskeleton.
Patterns
- the endoskeleton of something
The engineers built a light aluminum endoskeleton and covered it in soft plastic.
In the film, the robot's silver endoskeleton emerges after the skin is burned away.
Word forms
| plural | endoskeletons |
|---|
Common combinations
- internal endoskeleton
- Vertebrates share an internal endoskeleton built around a spine.
- bony endoskeleton
- Sharks lack a bony endoskeleton and have cartilage instead.
- develop an endoskeleton
- The embryo begins to develop an endoskeleton in the early weeks.
- robot's endoskeleton
- The robot's endoskeleton was exposed during the repair.
- endoskeleton and muscles
- The endoskeleton and muscles work together to produce movement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- skeleton
- Skeleton is the everyday word and normally means an internal one already, while endoskeleton is used when you need to contrast it with an outer shell.
- frame
- Frame is general and can refer to any structure, whereas endoskeleton names a living or robotic inner support specifically.
- framework
- Framework is broader and often abstract, while endoskeleton is a concrete anatomical or engineering term.
Opposites
Word family
- skeleton noun
- the whole bony frame of the body
- exoskeleton noun
- a hard outer covering that supports and protects, as in insects
- skeletal adjective
- relating to a skeleton
- endoskeletal adjective
- relating to an endoskeleton
Commonly confused: endoskeleton or exoskeleton?
endoskeleton vs exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is on the outside of the body, like a crab's shell. An endoskeleton is inside, like your own bones.
Practice
A lobster wears its support on the outside, but a dolphin's support is inside its body, so a dolphin has an ______.
Choose one answer.
Endo- means inside, so a dolphin's inner bones form an endoskeleton. Exoskeleton describes the outer shell of an animal like a lobster.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “endoskeleton”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.