skeleton

[skel-i-tn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR skeleton ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Anatomy, Zoology. the bones of a human or an animal considered as a whole, together forming the framework of the body.

any of various structures forming a rigid framework in an invertebrate.

an emaciated person or animal.

a supporting framework, as of a leaf, building, or ship.

an outline, as of a literary work: the skeleton of the plot.

something reduced to its essential parts.

adjective

of or relating to a skeleton.

like or being a mere framework; reduced to the essential or minimal parts or numbers: a skeleton staff.

Idioms

skeleton at the feast, a person or thing that casts gloom over a joyful occasion; a note or reminder of sorrow in the midst of joy.

skeleton in the closet/cupboard,

a family scandal that is concealed to avoid public disgrace.
any embarrassing, shameful, or damaging secret.

Origin of skeleton

1570–80; < New Latin < Greek: mummy, noun use of neuter of skeletós dried up, verbid of skéllein to dry

Related formsskel·e·ton·less, adjectiveskel·e·ton·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for skeleton

frame, scaffolding, sketch, outline, support, framework, draft, design, cage, osteology, bones

Examples from the Web for skeleton

Contemporary Examples of skeleton

That meant the talent that DJ Brinsely hired that night performed for a skeleton audience.
Alleged Cop Killer’s Blood-Soaked Screenplay
M.L. Nestel
December 24, 2014
The identity of the skeleton remains the big question, and answers may not be forthcoming anytime soon.
Is This Alexander the Great’s Tomb—or His Wife’s?
James Romm
December 12, 2014
Enriqueta Romero put a skeleton on the sidewalk, and helped give us Santa Muerte.
America’s Fastest Growing Death Holiday Is From Mexico
Michael Schulson
November 1, 2014
Posada used the skeleton as a way of talking about politics, commenting on life.
New Orleans’ Carnivalesque Day of the Dead
Jason Berry
November 1, 2014
“He looks like half the man he was, a skeleton,” says Bogucki.
A Navy Lawyer Cries Foul on Gitmo’s Kafkaesque Legal System
Eleanor Clift
September 26, 2014

Historical Examples of skeleton

The (hup)-seax has often been found in Saxon graves on the hip of the skeleton.
Beowulf
Unknown
At least, we think the skeleton is mournful; the skeleton himself does not seem to think so.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton
Savants say that it is the skeleton of a female, probably a young girl.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
Longfellow's Skeleton in Armor has revealed their temporary settlement.
The Bay State Monthly, Vol. 1, Issue 1.
Various
In that skeleton there are a number of parts to be recognized.
The Present Condition of Organic Nature
Thomas H. Huxley

British Dictionary definitions for skeleton

skeleton

noun

a hard framework consisting of inorganic material that supports and protects the soft parts of an animal's body and provides attachment for muscles: may be internal (an endoskeleton), as in vertebrates, or external( an exoskeleton), as in arthropodsSee also endoskeleton, exoskeleton

informal a very thin emaciated person or animal

the essential framework of any structure, such as a building or leaf, that supports or determines the shape of the rest of the structure

an outline consisting of bare essentialsthe skeleton of a novel

(modifier) US and Canadian reduced to a minimuma skeleton staff

skeleton in the cupboard or US and Canadian skeleton in the closet a scandalous fact or event in the past that is kept secret

Derived Formsskeletal, adjectiveskeletally, adverbskeleton-like, adjective

Word Origin for skeleton

C16: via New Latin from Greek: something desiccated, from skellein to dry up

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for skeleton

1570s, from Modern Latin sceleton "bones, bony framework of the body," from Greek skeleton soma "dried-up body, mummy, skeleton," from neuter of skeletos "dried-up" (also, as a noun, "dried body, mummy"), from skellein "dry up, make dry, parch," from PIE root *skele- "to parch, wither" (see sclero-).

Skelton was an early variant form. The noun use of Greek skeletos passed into Late Latin (sceletus), hence French squelette and rare English skelet (1560s), Spanish esqueleto, Italian scheletro. The meaning "bare outline" is first recorded c.1600; hence skeleton crew (1778), skeleton key, etc. Phrase skeleton in the closet "source of secret shame to a person or family" is from 1812.

skeleton in Medicine

skeleton

[skĕl′ĭ-tn]

n.

The internal structure composed of bone and cartilage that protects and supports the soft organs, tissues, and other parts of a vertebrate organism; endoskeleton.

All the bones of the body taken collectively.

The exoskeleton.

skeleton in Science

skeleton

[skĕl′ĭ-tn]

The internal structure of vertebrate animals, composed of bone or cartilage, that supports the body, serves as a framework for the attachment of muscles, and protects the vital organs and associated structures.

A hard protective covering or supporting structure of invertebrate animals. See also endoskeleton exoskeleton.

Related formsskeletal adjective