skeletal
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of skeletal
First recorded in 1850–55; skelet(on) + -al 1
Explanation
Use the adjective skeletal to describe anything that relates to a skeleton or anything without a lot of "flesh," like the skeletal remains of a bird or the skeletal outline of a paper that is missing all the details. If you're a scientist or a doctor, you may use the word skeletal mostly to talk about skeletons, but it also describes someone who is dangerously thin. A skeletal stray dog has probably been living on the streets for a long time. This word is also used figuratively to describe something that has not yet been "fleshed out" — like a skeletal staff or crew that operates without a lot of support. The root of skeletal is the Greek skeleton, "dried-up body, mummy, or skeleton."
Vocabulary lists containing skeletal
STAAR Biology: Biological Processes and Systems
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Organisms and Environments 5: Human Systems
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Novel Study: Inside Out & Back Again, Unpack and Repack–1976: The Year of the Dragon
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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.
Skeletal replicas of the terrifying mosasaur, a Komodo Dragon relative with a six-foot jaw; the saber-toothed salmon; and other extinct species greet visitors in the museum’s entrance hall.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2025
Skeletal remains of two other specimens found off islands in New Zealand and Chile enabled scientists to confirm a new species.
From BBC • Jul. 16, 2024
Skeletal remains, they argue, were a hot commodity at the beginning of the 19th century: Phosphorus was needed to produce fertilizer, whereas bone char was—bizarrely—a critical part of the process for refining sugar beets.
From Science Magazine • Apr. 4, 2024
Skeletal editing is a method used by chemists to replace atoms within a ring system.
From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2024
Skeletal birds with glowing red eyes blinked at her from the branches above; animals or...something made weird noises in the darkness around her.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
