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• bare bones
  bare bones

  plural noun

  the irreducible minimum; the most essential components.
• bare-bones
  bare-bones

  adjective

  basic or simple; no-frills

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

See Examples For:

bare bones bare-bones

Its bare bones prose and electrifying pictures preserve, honor and celebrate the people, places and ideas responsible for Rosales’ sentimental education.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Focaccia has become de facto sandwich bread or makeshift pizza crust elsewhere in Italy, but it tends to be bare bones in Genoa, where it has been made since the Middle Ages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Architect Dr Rachel O'Grady, who specialises in urban strategy, told BBC News NI "the bare bones of a really excellent city is there".

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

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

Mudd told the soldiers the bare bones of what had happened: Two strangers on horseback arrived near daybreak, one had a broken leg, and he set the bone.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Team Griffin, she says, is a very bare-bones operation.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Myhan had a bare-bones profile until he was laid off from a customer-success role in December.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Launched in 1992, the company is responsible for the "Spirit Effect" in which bare-bones service opens up travel to a broader slate of customers otherwise priced out of the market.

From Barron's ● May 9, 2026

Realism is achieved not through bare-bones scenic furniture but through the combustible relationships of characters who exist with one another in a purgatory of disillusionment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

In consultation with Stimson, Truman decided to wait until the final day of the Potsdam conference and then treat Stalin to a bare-bones report.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik