Meaning & use

skeleton

noun·Everyday

The internal framework of bones that supports and protects the body of a vertebrate.

See it in a sentence

The museum displayed a full dinosaur skeleton in the main hall.

Doctors study the human skeleton to understand how joints move.

A note on using this word

Skeleton also describes a bare outline or minimal structure, as in 'skeleton crew' or 'skeleton plan.'

Words with a similar meaning

framebones

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. noun

A minimal or reduced version of something, retaining only its essential structure.

The company kept a skeleton staff running over the holiday weekend.

Make it your own

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