skull
Americannoun
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the bony framework of the head, enclosing the brain and supporting the face; the skeleton of the head.
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the head as the center of knowledge and understanding; mind.
to get literature's great ideas through our skulls.
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Armor. the part of a helmet that covers the top of the head.
idioms
noun
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the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates See cranium
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derogatory the head regarded as the mind or intelligence
to have a dense skull
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a picture of a skull used to represent death or danger
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The part of the skeleton that forms the framework of the head, consisting of the bones of the cranium, which protect the brain, and the bones of the face.
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See more at skeleton
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of skull
1175–1225; Middle English scolle < Old Norse skalli
Explanation
The bones of a person's or animal's head make up the skull. All vertebrates have a skull. Pirate flags often feature a human skull and crossbones (because a parrot skull wouldn’t be nearly so scary). The wide-eyed head of a skeleton is its skull. Skulls are hard and bony, but they're a little bit flexible as well—characteristics that help them protect the brain they enclose. Your skull consists of two parts: the bones of your face and the neurocranium, or "braincase." The precise origin of skull is uncertain, but it probably traces back to the Old English scealu, "husk or shell."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In early November, Edie Harmon, who has documented border wall activity in the Jacumba Wilderness since 2020, learned that Marines were stringing wire in an area called Skull Valley.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
On Nov. 2, Edie Harmon, who lives down the road from the Jacumba Wilderness, learned Marines were stringing wire up a mountain in what’s called Skull Valley.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2026
A short ghost story about a boy with a clockwork heart buried under the Skull Tree is told via Burton claymation, in black-and-white, in the spirit of “Frankenweenie.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025
He is known for the Transformers franchise and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
From BBC • Jul. 23, 2025
I haven’t seen any Skull maskless since we were fourteen.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
