skull
Americannoun
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the bony framework of the head, enclosing the brain and supporting the face; the skeleton of the head.
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the head as the center of knowledge and understanding; mind.
to get literature's great ideas through our skulls.
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Armor. the part of a helmet that covers the top of the head.
idioms
noun
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the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates See cranium
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derogatory the head regarded as the mind or intelligence
to have a dense skull
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a picture of a skull used to represent death or danger
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The part of the skeleton that forms the framework of the head, consisting of the bones of the cranium, which protect the brain, and the bones of the face.
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See more at skeleton
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of skull
1175–1225; Middle English scolle < Old Norse skalli
Explanation
The bones of a person's or animal's head make up the skull. All vertebrates have a skull. Pirate flags often feature a human skull and crossbones (because a parrot skull wouldn’t be nearly so scary). The wide-eyed head of a skeleton is its skull. Skulls are hard and bony, but they're a little bit flexible as well—characteristics that help them protect the brain they enclose. Your skull consists of two parts: the bones of your face and the neurocranium, or "braincase." The precise origin of skull is uncertain, but it probably traces back to the Old English scealu, "husk or shell."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She added, “It’s really fun to go shopping for a human skull and a Ronettes record in the same day, and we get to do that with our band.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Russell Crowe bought a Mosasaur skull for his kids from Leonardo DiCaprio for $35,000 in 2008 while the two were hanging out and drinking, the actor said on “The Howard Stern Show” in 2009.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The specimen, which contains a tyrannosaur tooth still embedded in another dinosaur's skull, is the focus of a new study by researchers from Montana State University and the University of Alberta in Canada.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Well, Platner’s answer is that he never knew the origins of the skull tattoo he got—not when he got it, and not for years after.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
Nathan turned around and stared at the gray being, the size of Seed Collector, that had been extracted from the back of his skull.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Even in my fire company, where we are dedicated to preventing loss of life, skulls are on practically every T-shirt, bumper sticker, and key chain.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
So with Spielberg once again looking skyward, we decided to revisit the director’s long cinematic relationship with aliens, as figures of astonishment, terror, transcendence and, occasionally, giant crystal skulls from another dimension.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
The beaked Pterocetus benguelae, which is 5.3 million years old, was discovered to be one of the fossilised skulls in the graves.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Compact skulls were considered stronger than longer, narrower ones.
From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026
You could find the sun-parched skulls of coyotes and empty tortoise shells and the rattles and shed skins of rattlesnakes.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
