bare bones

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.

bare-bones

adjective

1. basic or simple; no-frills

Other Word Forms

• bare-bones adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bare bones¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

The home side's fast bowling is down to the bare bones and a potential area of weakness in what could be superb batting conditions.

From BBC

What is announced today is likely to be only the bare bones of a narrow agreement.

From BBC

Now we’re beginning to see some meat on the bare bones of GOP policies, thanks to a “menu” of fiscal policy reforms recently leaked to Politico.

From Los Angeles Times

But there was no sound team, no makeup, no construction — just the bare bones of what it takes to make something.”

From Los Angeles Times

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

When To Use

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. ​