cranium

American  

[kray-nee-uhm] / ˈkreɪ ni əm /

noun

• craniums,
  plural
• crania
  plural

1. the skull of a vertebrate.

2. the part of the skull that encloses the brain.

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cranium British  

/ ˈkreɪnɪəm /

noun

1. the skull of a vertebrate

2. Nontechnical name: brainpan. the part of the skull that encloses the brain

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cranium Scientific  

/ krā′nē-əm /

• craniums
  plural

1. The vertebrate skull, especially the part that encloses and protects the brain.

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cranium Cultural  

1. The part of the skull that encloses the brain.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• crania
  plural
• craniums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cranium

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English craneum, from Medieval Latin crānium, from Greek krāníon “skull”; akin to kerato-, cerebrum, cornu, horn

Explanation

Your cranium is your skull, the hard bone of your head that protects your brain from injury. Take care of your cranium; it's your built-in helmet! The skull is composed of two primary parts: the cranium, which houses the brain, and the mandible, or jawbone. While the cranium acts as a protective "braincase," it also provides the structural foundation for the facial skeleton. In some animals, the cranium is reinforced so that defensive features, such as horns or antlers, can be anchored directly to the bone. The word comes from the Greek kranion, "upper part of the head," from the root word kara, "head."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cranium crania craniums

The bumps and contours of the cranium were once believed to reflect the intellectual power and moral strength of the mind inside.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

The final stage involved "attaching" the reconstructed face to the braincase to create a mostly complete cranium.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 16, 2025

The university removed that cranium from the reburial so it can be assessed for return through NAGPRA.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2024

If the device works as expected, it will answer longstanding questions about the impacts of microgravity inside the cranium.

From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2023

After the shock of rope and teeth, I admit it, I was a bit messed—madmanning it around the house, reeling from room to room, brain gyroscoping inside my cranium.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Beginning in the 1830s, physician and professor Samuel George Morton collected about 900 crania, and after his death the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia added hundreds more.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2024

To construct the feeding behaviours and determine the relation between the mandible and trunk, the team examined the crania and lower jaws of the three groups, sourced from three different museums.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2023

“The placement and treatment of the crania are distinctly different from the burial tradition” in the hunter-gatherer graves located 330 feet to the north, Kjellström said.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 7, 2018

"It is more likely that the crania were separated from the bodies during decomposition."

From National Geographic ● Feb. 13, 2018

Now, as far back as history and monuments carry us, as well as crania and other testimonies, these various types have been permanent; and most of them we can trace back several thousand years.

From The Moral and Intellectual Diversity of Races With Particular Reference to Their Respective Influence in the Civil and Political History of Mankind by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur

Humans evolved wisdom teeth to better grind down hard foods like raw plants, tough meats and nuts, but as our diets became softer and our brains bigger, our species developed larger craniums and smaller jaws.

From Salon ● May 7, 2024

The museum plans to repatriate hundreds of craniums from all over the world, but the process has been fraught from the beginning.

From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2024

The vividly hued mixed-media craniums are grown-up 3D cartoons that suggest the visages of superheroes or supervillains.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2023

The skeletal remains, which include skulls without mandibles, craniums, loose mandibles and maxilla fragments, were handed over in an official ceremony in Vienna on Tuesday, where there was a panel and presentation.

From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2022

I suppose the inventors of steam-engines and the builders of giant dams have an ideal, too, in their crazy craniums, but they invent and work with a very definite idea of personal gain.

From Richard Wagner Composer of Operas by John F. Runciman