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

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

Hoping for a positive result for Newcastle at SJP, but my word, we are down to bare bones.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2024

“There’s been an investment in education here, above and beyond bare bones, and it paid off,” he said.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Related Words

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