bare bones

American  

plural noun

1. the irreducible minimum; the most essential components.

   Reduce this report to its bare bones. There is nothing left of the town but the bare bones—a couple of stores, a church, and a few houses.

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bare-bones British  

adjective

1. basic or simple; no-frills

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bare bones Idioms  

1. The mere essentials or plain, unadorned framework of something, as in This outline gives just the bare bones of the story; details will come later. This phrase transfers the naked skeleton of a body to figurative use. [c. 1900]

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Usage

What does bare bones mean? The bare bones is the absolute minimum, the plain essential elements or facts, or the most basic framework of something.Bare often means uncovered, but in this case it means unadorned, plain, or scarcely or just sufficient. Bare bones is often used to refer to something that only includes its essential parts and nothing else.The adjective form bare-bones means most basic and without any frills, as in My apartment is pretty bare-bones, with just a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette. Example: After the seniors graduate, the team will be left with only the bare bones of a squad, so they’ll need to recruit some more members. ​

Other Word Forms

• bare-bones adjective

Etymology

Origin of bare bones

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Down to the bare bones due to a host of injuries, Roma moved into third thanks to quickfire late goals from Manu Kone and Matias Soule which broke Sassuolo's brave resistance.

From Barron's • Jan. 10, 2026

Other operators he's spoken to "really are on their bare bones," as some ran out of Guinness on Friday night, he says.

From BBC • Dec. 8, 2024

A: The chair drafted a bare bones skeleton of a treaty.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 25, 2024

If you have already cut your budget to the bare bones, it may be time for another tactic: negotiation.

From Salon • Sep. 21, 2024

If they wanted to survive, they must travel light, harden their hearts against sentimental keepsakes, and trust that they could make do with the bare bones of equipment.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Related Words

• economical
• no-frills
• plain
• unadorned
• unembellished